Democrats Begin to Vie for Presidential Nomination

Al Gore is out, and several Democrats already are stepping up to the challenge of defeating President Bush in the 2004 presidential elections.

Former vice president and 2004 front-runner Al Gore dropped out of the presidential race Dec. 17, leaving the door wide open for several lesser-known Democrats.

Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean; Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.; Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C.; Rep. Richard Gephardt, D-Mo.; Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D.; Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn.; Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla.; and the Rev. Al Sharpton, a Democrat from New York, all either have entered the race or are considering doing so.

"It is typical when you have strong incumbents to have a large number of opposing candidates," said Robert Loevy, professor of political science at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colo. "Typically the strongest candidate drops out.

"The most significant development is not who announced (a candidacy), but who didn't. Al Gore would have limited the number of candidates."

To have a legitimate chance of defeating Bush, each Democratic candidate must develop a presidential image, said Jack Citrin, professor of political science at the University of California-Berkeley.

"All the candidates are attempting to establish that viability, but none have the prior record that warrants it, so it's pretty much an open field," he said.

Citrin said national political experience won't matter much. "If you look at Clinton, he had no national experience. ... If you look at Bush, he didn't have any national experience. His dad did, but he didn't."

Loevy said all the candidates have different reasons why they would or would not win the Democratic nomination in 2004.

He said Gephardt only will have a chance if he wins Iowa's primary. He'll be in a strong position if his state, Missouri, votes for him, Loevy said.

"Edwards, if he gets to the South, will be a strong candidate," he said. "But Southern states typically have late primaries. That will be Edwards' problem unless North Carolina moves their primary up."

Daschle is a long shot because South Dakota is such a small state, he said.

Loevy said Graham is banking on the idea that Bush will run into trouble with his foreign policy.

He said Sharpton's announcement that he will run could pose problems for other candidates because he could split the vote. "Will African-Americans vote for him?" Loevy asked.

Loevy said he'd bet on Kerry's success because the New Hampshire primary -- the first primary -- is going to be critical. "Whoever wins that is going to have tremendous momentum."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.