Democratic front-runner Mr John Kerry hopes to build on his commanding lead in the party's presidential race today with wins in the Virginia and Tennessee primaries.
Mr Kerry, a four-term Massachusetts senator, swept three Democratic nominating contests over the weekend and has won 10 of 12 states in his drive for the right to challenge President George W Bush in November.
Wins in Virginia and Tennessee would give Kerry his first victories in the South and help dispel doubts about whether a Massachusetts liberal can compete in the traditionally more conservative region, which could be critical in a November matchup with Mr Bush.
A Kerry sweep also could knock out of the race one of his two Southern rivals, retired Gen Wesley Clark of Arkansas and Sen John Edwards of North Carolina, who are looking to spring upsets or at least score second-place finishes that will propel them on to the Wisconsin primary on February 17th.
Both Mr Clark and Mr Edwards promise to roll on to Wisconsin no matter what happens today, but Clark in particular could be endangered by a third-place finish in Tennessee, where he has focused his campaign.
Former front-runner Mr Howard Dean already has looked past the two Southern states to concentrate on Wisconsin, where he had promised to make a last stand against Mr Kerry.
Yesterday, the former Vermont governor said he would stay in the race past
Wisconsin, win or lose. "I can't quit on all the people who are depending on me to raise the issues that we have raised," said Dean, who has waged an outsider campaign based on opposition to the war in Iraq and Washington-based special interests.