I'm surging back, says Dean

Voting began today in the New Hampshire Primary, with the stakes high for the Democratic candidates hoping to run for the White House later this year.

Leading the pack of seven hopefuls, as the polls opened in freezing weather, was Massachusetts Senator and Vietnam war veteran John Kerry.

But amid inconsistent opinion polls, former front-runner Howard Dean insisted that he was surging back and would emerge victorious.

Success in New Hampshire is seen as key to going on to win the party ticket to run in the presidential election in November, although a victory is not essential.

Until Bill Clinton came second in 1992, no candidate went on to win the presidency without first winning the New Hampshire Primary.

New Hampshire will also be the first real test for the former Supreme Allied Commander of Nato, retired General Wesley Clark.

He opted out of last week’s Iowa Caucuses – the first opportunity Democrats had to show their support for their favourite candidate – which were won by Kerry.

Although wildly inconsistent, the latest opinion polls put Kerry ahead of the field, followed by Dean, then Clark, and then North Carolina Senator John Edwards, who came a surprise second in Iowa.

Iowa marked a sharp reversal of fortunes for Kerry who went from outsider to favourite, and he has managed to maintain the momentum into New Hampshire.

Former Vermont Governor Dean came third in Iowa, losing his position as front-runner.

He was later ridiculed for his ranting attempt to rally his troops after the result, a tirade which has since become dubbed the “I have a scream” speech.

On the last day of campaigning yesterday, in sub-zero temperatures, Kerry accused the Bush Administration of misleading the public over the war on Iraq.

And he refused to relax on the basis of favourable opinion polls, saying: “I still resist it, and purposely, because I was so far behind a few weeks ago, and things change.”

Dean, a medical doctor, said he believed he would win the primary, adding that the race is “very close.”

“I’m not sure it’s a dead heat, but it’s close and it’s closing very fast,” he said.

Meanwhile, Clark told supporters that he was the only Washington “outsider” who could bring a fresh approach to the White House.

But analysts suggested that the decision by Clark, and another candidate, Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, not to run in Iowa could have taken the wind out of their sails from the start.

“Does forfeiting Iowa hurt their credibility? Yes,” said Charles E Cook, editor and political analyst for the National Journal Group.

“But since they weren’t going to win it, they are probably better off taking that money they would have spent in Iowa and trying to improve their chances of winning in New Hampshire or South Carolina.” The New Hampshire Primary is prone to late swings in public opinion.

And the people of the state, which has the motto “live free or die”, are sympathetic to Dean’s reformist policies.

Voters must be registered as Democrats or be independent to vote in the Democratic Primary.

New Hampshire fiercely protects its role as having the first presidential Primary.

The Primary boosted the campaigns of Ronald Reagan in 1980, and Jimmy Carter in 1976.

Voting began in the tiny village of Dixville Notch – population 33 – as is tradition, at 5am Irish time. The rest of New Hampshire’s polls were opening at 11am Irish time and will close by 1am Irish time Wednesday, at the latest.

There are primaries and caucuses on February 3 in Arizona, Delaware, Missouri, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Carolina.

That is 269 national convention delegates at stake in one night, compared with 45 in last Monday’s Iowa caucuses and 22 in New Hampshire.

The Democratic candidate needs 2,162 out of a total of 4,322 delegates to win the party’s nomination to run in the November presidential election.