US: Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts kicked off a bid for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination yesterday by announcing he was forming a committee to assess his support across the country. From Conor O'Clery, North America Editor
"I'm going to file this week an exploratory committee, a formal committee, and I'm going to begin the process of organising a national campaign." he told NBC's Meet the Press yesterday.
The Vietnam War hero, who won a Silver Star, Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts in combat, said he also wanted to find out who was prepared to put money behind a run for the White House.
Senator Kerry enters the race as an outsider: recent polls among Democrats show former vice-president Al Gore leading the field of likely contestants, though sentiment about him is mixed.
A recent CNN-Time poll put Mr Gore, who will declare after Christmas, at 36 per cent support and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton at 20 per cent. Mrs Clinton has said she is not running and, with her name removed from the list, Mr Gore's support swells to 53 per cent with Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman and Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle trailing at 10 per cent each.
In a CNN-Time poll rematch of the 2000 election, President Bush had the support of 57 per cent, while Mr Gore had 40 per cent.
Vermont Governor Howard Dean has declared himself a candidate and North Carolina Senator John Edwards is expected to enter the race in the New Year.