Kerry hoping for Democratic clean sweep today

After back-to-back wins in Iowa and New Hampshire, Senator John Kerry was today hoping for a clean sweep in the biggest test yet for Democratic presidential hopefuls, seven states holding primaries or caucuses.

But the race’s two Southerners – Senator John Edwards of North Carolina and retired Army General Wesley Clark of Arkansas – were angling to slow Kerry’s gathering momentum toward becoming the party’s nominee to challenge President George Bush in November.

Edwards was counting on a victory in South Carolina’s primary to keep his own campaign alive.

And Clark hoped for a win in Oklahoma and a respectable showing in two western states, Arizona and New Mexico, to propel his campaign into the next round of contests.

One-time front-runner Howard Dean aimed to put his campaign back on track, but was looking beyond today’s contests – where he is not running any TV ads and where polls show he is badly lagging – to later races, including Michigan’s vote this Saturday.

Dean’s campaign, which has severely cut back on spending, engaged in another round of layoffs, aides said.

Today’s contests in Arizona, Delaware, Missouri, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Carolina are expected to help reduce the field of major contenders, perhaps to two.

It is the first round of multi-state primaries and caucuses in the contest after Iowa’s vote on January 19 and New Hampshire’s primary on January 27.

Kerry and Edwards swapped charges yesterday as their South Carolina primary fight shaped up as a crucial test.

Should Kerry sweep all seven states, his front-runner status could be sealed.

But an Edwards victory in South Carolina – he had a slight edge in pre-election polls – could raise questions about Kerry’s strength beyond Iowa and New Hampshire.

Polls showed Kerry with solid leads in Missouri, Arizona, New Mexico, Delaware and North Dakota – and within reach of victory in South Carolina and Oklahoma.