Kerry Seeks to Relax GOP Hold on South

[Feanorcurufinwe]

Campaign Courts States Clinton Carried Twice


Kerry on Friday kicked off what aides described as an eight-month fight for the South, which will focus mainly on states such as Louisiana, which Bill Clinton won twice in the 1990s. The strategy might include adding a southerner to the ticket, according to aides, though the vice presidential search has just begun. The last time Democrats won without a southerner on the ticket was 1944.

The campaign's early southern targets include Louisiana, Florida and West Virginia, according to a top Kerry adviser. The campaign has not polled extensively across the nation, so it has not nailed down its target list, the adviser said. The Kerry campaign also announced plans to raise $80 million by midsummer to spread Kerry's message in every competitive state, including several in the South. Kerry's campaign plans events in 20 cities through early May and intends to raise much of the money through telemarketing and online appeals.

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Kerry has said he will focus his campaign on jobs and national security and attempt to steer clear of divisive cultural issues. At a campaign event here Friday, Kerry pointed to Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu's victory last election as evidence of the Democratic Party's potential in the South and elsewhere. "Louisiana gave heart and hope to Democrats all across this nation," Kerry told a crowd of about 2,000 people. He quickly turned to what Democrats consider their silver bullet: the economy. Pointing to new government reports of anemic job growth, Kerry said job losses "rip the heart out of our economy," and he promised "real job growth" in a Kerry administration.

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This week, Kerry and his fellow Democrats cheered Senate approval of two amendments extending a ban on assault weapons and requiring background checks of those who make purchases at gun shows. But the underlying bill, granting liability protection to gunmakers, was later overwhelmingly defeated. And Republicans predict that the votes on the bill would haunt Kerry and the Democrats. Kerry, a hunter and gun owner, has a long record of voting for gun controls, which the National Rifle Association, a powerful force in many southern states, is promising to make a major election issue.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A34796-2004Mar5