Massachusetts Senator John Kerry has won the first major test vote of the 2004 presidential campaign. Senator Kerry finished first in the Iowa presidential caucuses with about 38 percent of the vote, while North Carolina Senator John Edwards was second with about 32 percent.
Senator John Kerry's presidential campaign has been given a major boost with the victory in Iowa. It was also a good night for Senator John Edwards, who finished a strong second.
Both men benefited from a late surge of support that seemed to draw votes away from two other candidates former Vermont Governor Howard Dean and Missouri Congressman Richard Gephardt.
Mr. Dean trailed in third place in the Iowa results, while Congressman Gephardt finished a disappointing fourth. Mr. Gephardt is abandonning his presidential campaign.
The battle for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination now moves to New Hampshire for the first-in-the-nation presidential primary on January 27.