Burnt Orange Report

Shocker! Kerry Wins 3 More

By Byron LaMasters

Here's the results, via CNN:

Candidate Vote % State Del

Utah (100% reporting)
Kerry 55% - 5
Edwards 30% - 3
Kucinich 7% - 0
Dean 4% - 0

Idaho (100% reporting)
Kerry - 54% - 12
Edwards 22% - 6
Dean 11% - 0
Kucinich 6% - 0

Hawaii (97% reporting)
Kerry 50% - 14
Kucinich 26% - 6
Edwards 14% - 0
Dean 323 8% - 0

A few things of note. Edwards probably could have made a run for a victory in Utah or Idaho if he had just visited there. On the other hand, though, who cares? A visit could have given him maybe a handful more delegates, which compared to the delegates at stake next Tuesday is completely insignificant. Why bother picking up a delegate or two in these states when you can pick up a few dozen in say - Georgia or Ohio. That is, of course, unless your name is Dennis Kucinich. He campaigned in Hawaii, and it paid off with a strong second place with 26% of the vote, which was good for six delegates. Dennis Kucinich, may just get more delegates than dates after all.

Back to Edwards - He's closing in Georgia (via kos) in the American Research Group poll. Kerry leads 45-37% there. I'll bet on Edwards scoring a win there (even though John Lewis and Max Cleland are working hard for Kerry). New York looks just about out of reach for Edwards (Kerry has a 54-21% lead), and Ohio is closer but still a solid (46-27%) Kerry lead. Then again, five days before the Wisconsin primary, Kerry had a 53-16% lead in Wisconsin, and that 37 point lead eroded 31 points in five days. Anything can happen, and don't forget that the schedule gets a lot easier for Edwards after Super Tuesday.