Kerry captures Maine caucuses

PORTLAND, Maine -- After sweeping caucuses on both coasts and the heartland over the weekend, Democratic front-runner John F. Kerry seized an early lead in Maine yesterday, followed by Howard Dean with a distant second-place finish and Dennis J. Kucinich in third place -- by far the strongest showing for the Ohio representative in the nomination contests.

Kerry, turning his focus to winning his first Southern state, also campaigned in Virginia yesterday and picked up a significant endorsement from Virginia Governor Mark Warner.

Kucinich came in at 14 percent, with 100 out of Maine's 400 caucus sites. If he maintains those numbers, it will be his first finish with more than the 8 percent he garnered in Washington on Saturday, for another third-place showing there. Dean, the former governor of Vermont, brought in 25 percent, after Kerry, who drew 48 percent. For the Masschusetts senator, Maine would be his tenth victory, out of the 12 state contests held so far.

North Carolina Senator John Edwards and retired Army General Wesley K. Clark, spent little time in Maine, instead focusing their efforts on Virginia and Tennessee, which hold primaries tomorrow. In early returns, they were in single digits.

Kerry heads into the fourth week of primary contests with a clear advantage. But after his definitive triumphs this past weekend, Kerry felt confident enough to look beyond the nominating contest to the general election, taking aim at President Bush after the airing of an hourlong interview on the NBC news program "Meet the Press." Although Bush intended the appearance to reinvigorate his reelection campaign, it also, judging from Kerry's response, exposed him to criticism on everything from his argument for the war in Iraq to his service in the National Guard during Vietnam.

After watching the program, Kerry called on Bush to accelerate the work of a new bipartisan commission on US intelligence agencies, demanding that its findings on intelligence statements about Iraq's prewar weapons be made public before the general election in November.

"I respect the fact that the president has asked for a commission that will look at all of the intelligence agencies, but that's not what Americans asked for," Kerry told reporters.

"What Americans asked for, and what we need, is an explanation of what happened to our intelligence with respect to this war. There aren't that many people to talk to. There's not that long a trail to trace. And it ought to be able to be done in a matter of months, and it needs to be done in order to provide America with a clearer understanding of what our intelligence status is and of how we went to war. So I ask the president to take responsibility and set the record straight, and to immediately convene people who can give those answers to the American people, because we deserve that."

Dean, who has yet to win any primaries or caucuses, spent yesterday traveling to six caucus sites across Maine, which aides estimated would put him in contact with 20 percent of caucusgoers. He pledged to support whomever the party nominates, but also said: "I have a record. I'm independent of all the special interests, and I believe in standing up for what's right."

Earlier, speaking on the CBS news program "Face the Nation," Dean avoided a direct answer when asked whether Kerry could beat Bush in November.

"Look, if Senator Kerry gets the nomination, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that he beats George Bush," he said. "I just think I have a better opportunity. I'm the only person that's brought new people to the party. We can raise a lot of money from a huge small-dollar donor base. I don't owe anybody anything, except my ordinary Americans who are giving us $100 or $50 at a time. I think that's a better candidate against George Bush than John Kerry is. But if John Kerry gets the nomination, believe me, I'll be there for him."

Edwards told Fox News in an interview yesterday that he hopes to finish in the "top two" in the Virginia and Tennessee primaries tomorrow. He brushed off questions about whether Virginia Governor Mark Warner's endorsement of Kerry represented a set-back for his campaign, saying in between campaign stops that "Mark Warner is a good man, and I'm just going to keep talking to the voters like I always have."

Clark, meanwhile, flew to Racine, Wis., for an appearance with Governor Jim Doyle -- a sign that Dean will face stiff competition in the state's primary Feb. 17, a contest Dean has said he must win to stay in the race.

While Doyle has not endorsed anyone in the race -- and stopped just short of doing so yesterday -- he seemed to offer Clark a strong show of support yesterday.

"We have an extraordinary candidate here today," Doyle said. "General Clark is an American hero."

Nevertheless, Tennessee is arguably more crucial for Clark; a poor showing in the state would obliterate his argument that he can carry the South better than Kerry or Edwards can. Later, Clark flew in his charter jet back to Nashville, where he was scheduled to address a state Democratic Party dinner featuring, among others, former vice president Al Gore.

Robert Schlesinger and Raja Mishra of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Anne E. Kornblut can be reached at akornblut@globe.com.