Nanny Pam
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Dean Says He Will Quit Race if He Fails to Win Wisconsin
By JODI WILGOREN
Published: February 5, 2004
LINT, Mich., Feb. 5 — Howard Dean sent an overnight e-mail message to supporters saying he would quit the Democratic presidential race if he did not win the Wisconsin primary on Feb. 17.
The message, which comes as Dr. Dean is under increasing pressure to quit the race from unions and members of Congress supporting his campaign, is a marked shift from the candidate's recent comments.
"The entire race has come down to this: we must win Wisconsin," Dr. Dean, the former governor of Vermont, said in the e-mail, which asked for $50 contributions, with a goal of raising $700,000 by Sunday, to put television advertisements up before Wisconsin's primary.
"Anything less will put us out of this race."
Dr. Dean predicted decent showings in this weekend's caucuses in Michigan and in Washington state and Maine, but said "our true test will be the Wisconsin primary," where a victory, he said, could propel the campaign forward to the major showdowns on March 2, known as Super Tuesday, and March 9.
"All that you have worked for these past months," he warned, "is on the line on a single day, in a single state."
Since his losses in Iowa and New Hampshire, Dr. Dean has played down the importance of posting a primary victory and said he was focused on collecting delegates for a possible showdown at the Democratic Party convention in July.
Just two days ago, Dr. Dean promised to fight on regardless, saying, "I don't plan to disenfranchise Florida a second time." Florida's primary is March 9. He vowed to "go on to Utah, Idaho, Hawaii," which vote Feb. 24.
But after devastating losses in Iowa and New Hampshire and a failure to place even second in any of seven states that voted Tuesday, many in the campaign are finally admitting that without a victory by Feb. 17, Dr. Dean would have to bow out.
The Dean campaign has been increasingly focused on Wisconsin since its disappointing second-place showing in New Hampshire on Jan. 27. Wisconsin's progressive politics has made it fertile ground for his antiwar message.
Dr. Dean was the first candidate to put staff in the state, starting last Aug. 1, and now has 55 organizers working in eight cities.
He drew a crowd of 5,000 in Madison, the left-leaning state capital and college town, for a rally in October, and attracted about 700 people to a nightclub there Wednesday night.
People in his campaign have referred to Wisconsin as their "new Iowa."
By JODI WILGOREN
Published: February 5, 2004
LINT, Mich., Feb. 5 — Howard Dean sent an overnight e-mail message to supporters saying he would quit the Democratic presidential race if he did not win the Wisconsin primary on Feb. 17.
The message, which comes as Dr. Dean is under increasing pressure to quit the race from unions and members of Congress supporting his campaign, is a marked shift from the candidate's recent comments.
"The entire race has come down to this: we must win Wisconsin," Dr. Dean, the former governor of Vermont, said in the e-mail, which asked for $50 contributions, with a goal of raising $700,000 by Sunday, to put television advertisements up before Wisconsin's primary.
"Anything less will put us out of this race."
Dr. Dean predicted decent showings in this weekend's caucuses in Michigan and in Washington state and Maine, but said "our true test will be the Wisconsin primary," where a victory, he said, could propel the campaign forward to the major showdowns on March 2, known as Super Tuesday, and March 9.
"All that you have worked for these past months," he warned, "is on the line on a single day, in a single state."
Since his losses in Iowa and New Hampshire, Dr. Dean has played down the importance of posting a primary victory and said he was focused on collecting delegates for a possible showdown at the Democratic Party convention in July.
Just two days ago, Dr. Dean promised to fight on regardless, saying, "I don't plan to disenfranchise Florida a second time." Florida's primary is March 9. He vowed to "go on to Utah, Idaho, Hawaii," which vote Feb. 24.
But after devastating losses in Iowa and New Hampshire and a failure to place even second in any of seven states that voted Tuesday, many in the campaign are finally admitting that without a victory by Feb. 17, Dr. Dean would have to bow out.
The Dean campaign has been increasingly focused on Wisconsin since its disappointing second-place showing in New Hampshire on Jan. 27. Wisconsin's progressive politics has made it fertile ground for his antiwar message.
Dr. Dean was the first candidate to put staff in the state, starting last Aug. 1, and now has 55 organizers working in eight cities.
He drew a crowd of 5,000 in Madison, the left-leaning state capital and college town, for a rally in October, and attracted about 700 people to a nightclub there Wednesday night.
People in his campaign have referred to Wisconsin as their "new Iowa."
