Dean finished third, stripped of his front-runner’s mantle but still defiant — “We will not give up,” he told backers. Rep. Dick Gephardt finished a weak fourth and planned to end his 33-year political career by pulling out of the race.
His campaign given up for dead just weeks ago, Kerry predicted another comeback in New Hampshire’s Jan. 27 primary.
“As I’ve said in New Hampshire and here, I’m a fighter,” the Massachusetts lawmaker told The Associated Press. “I’ve come from behind before and I’m going to take the same fight that I’ve been making here to New Hampshire.”
Edwards, 50, also claimed momentum.
“This campaign, this cause, this movement is about bringing real change to America,” Edwards told supporters. “You and I can build an America and an image of America that we will be proud of.”
Just two weeks ago, before the Iowa race turned testy and tumultuous, Dean and Gephardt sat atop the field in Iowa, with Dean leading in New Hampshire and national polls. Kerry and Edwards turned that on its head, closing their campaigns with positive, forward-looking messages while Dean and Gephardt bickered over past votes and quotes.
“My campaign to fight for working people may be ending tonight, but our fight will never end,” Gephardt said in a post-caucus speech that sounded like a political farewell.
