AZ Republic | Gore's support may lift Dean in state, U.S.

[goobergunch]

Chip Scutari and Jon Kamman
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 9, 2003 12:00 AM


Al Gore's expected endorsement today of Howard Dean for president will further tip the balance of the Democratic race to the front-runner and make Arizona's primary an even more crucial test for Dean, political observers said Monday.

"I don't think Dean can pop the champagne yet, but I certainly think the Dean campaign can start getting it cooled down," said Democratic strategist Barry Dill, a close confidant of Gov. Janet Napolitano.

"It's huge," Dill said, a term repeated by national and Arizona political figures.

The former vice president's impending endorsement, which sources said would be made in New York's Harlem, generated statements from other top Democratic contenders attempting to discount its importance.

more...http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/1209gore-dean09.html

[LuminousX]

1. I'm seeing Arizona as a critical state for Dean if his SC numbers

Don't improve soon. Dean will need a win on that day and if it can't come from SC it needs to come from AZ. He also needs to place in the top three in SC, imo, to prevent the news from saying 'Dean has been completely stopped in SC.'

The AZ win just means he won't come off as a loser.

Maybe I'm just paranoid.