Kerry and Dean set for close fight

John Kerry and Howard Dean were battling their way to the finish line in the New Hampshire primary tonight as voters helped choose who would challenge George Bush for the presidency.

As voters braved freezing New England temperatures, Vietnam veteran Kerry launched a late offensive against his closest challenger, former Vermont Governor Dean.

“Unlike Howard Dean, I’ve fought in a war and I know the responsibilities of commander-in-chief, of how you send young men and women off to war,” said the Massachusetts Senator.

Dean lost his front-runner position to Kerry when he came a shock third place at the Iowa caucuses last week.

He continued to lag in the opinion polls over the weekend but appeared to be making a resurgence at the last minute.

Often cast as the “angry man” of the campaign, he said: “I think what we need in Washington is somebody who’s going to stand up and say what they think.

“It may not be popular and it may not always be politic, but I think a lot of people have given up on this country and we want to give them hope again,” he told NBC.

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 in New Hampshire.

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

He and Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman opted out of last week’s Iowa caucuses.

Lieberman and Clark were level pegging in the opinion polls at third place when voting started.

North Carolina Senator John Edwards, who came a surprise second place in Iowa, was trailing Clark and Lieberman.

Voting began at 5am GMT today, when the first village to vote, as is tradition, was Dixville Notch.

The tiny hamlet, population 33, gave Clark 14, Kerry eight, Edwards and Dean four each, and Lieberman one.

Although it was an early victory for Clark he was the only candidate to have visited the village, and the numbers were statistically insignificant.

The rest of the state’s eligible voters started casting their ballots from 11am Irish time, and polls will close at 1am Irish time tomorrow.

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.

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 presidential election.