In The Northwest: State's Democrats settle into a Kerry marriage

[Feanorcurufinwe]

Joel Connelly [e-mail]
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

A couple months back, Howard Dean's campaign manager then, Joe Trippi, boasted to The New Republic: "In Washington state, God help any of the other candidates. We have such an organization up there."

Divine intervention did not cause John Kerry to beat Dean in Saturday's precinct caucuses in The Evergreen State. Rather, his was a victory of reason over passion. Following the advice of a popular Iowa bumper sticker, our state's Democrats dated Dean, in a romance that became torrid, but ultimately decided to marry Kerry.

The end of the Dean affair, which bloomed last spring and summer, became apparent in places such as Madrona School in Seattle's liberal heartland. Saturday's turnout was unprecedented, 75 to 80 people per precinct, filling the school cafeteria and gymnasium. Tallies were taken. Switches of allegiance were invited, and the depths of Kerry's support even on enemy turf was apparent.

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Kerry won a smashing victory that extended around the state and even into the home precinct of state Democratic Party Chairman Paul Berendt, an early endorser of Dean. The Massachusetts senator ran strongest where Democrats must to win in November. He took 60 percent of the vote in the 3rd Congressional District of southwest Washington, historic Democratic turf that Bush narrowly carried in 2000. He was a runaway winner in the 8th District, where Democrats hope to pick up the House seat of retiring GOP Rep. Jennifer Dunn.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/connelly/159840_joel09.html