N.H. polls open with Kerry in front

As New Hampshire Democrats and independents venture out in the frigid cold and snow to vote in their presidential primary, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry holds Demo Derby's lead over former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean.

Did Kerry sit on a lead too long or did Dean run out of time to make a comeback after his third-place finish in Iowa?

Dean seemed spry and upbeat in the last hours of campaigning, with his senior aides saying Dean was winning back wavering Democrats who had almost abandoned him in the hours after his Iowa defeat.

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An outright Dean win in New Hampshire would be yet another stunner — but perhaps we should get used to them in 2004.

The race for third in New Hampshire appears to be between Wesley Clark and North Carolina Sen. John Edwards. If voters cast their ballots simply on pure oratorical ability, Edwards would win with ease. Clark still is learning how to be a stump speaker but Edwards is smooth and fun to watch. The two men will square in a do-or-die primary in South Carolina next week.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

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FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

But don't count out Sen. Joe Lieberman, who has been inching ahead in some polls of New Hampshire voters. Lieberman ads airing on Manchester TV stations are pretty compelling. He needs a very strong performance in Manchester, where most of his voters are, to place third.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich stays in the race as a free-thinking gadfly and Rev. Al Sharpton is campaigning in South Carolina, hoping for solid support from the African-American voters who make up about 40 percent of the Democratic electorate there.