Harold Dean drops out of Presidential race

Wednesday, 18 February 2004 12:00 AM

Harold Dean's retreat had been widely anticipated following his poor showings in the primaries so far. Though he was standing second, he was massively behind the runaway leader John Kerry who has won 14 out of the 16 primaries.

In a statement posted on his website, Harold Dean said: 'Today my candidacy may come to an end-but our campaign for change is not over.'

Addressing, and thanking those who supported him, he said: 'In the coming weeks, we will be launching a new initiative to continue the campaign you helped begin.There is much work still to be done, and today is not an end-it is just the beginning.'

'This Party and this country needs change, and you have already begun that process. I want you to think about how far we have come. The truth is: change is tough. There is enormous institutional pressure in our country against change. There is enormous institutional pressure in Washington against change, in the Democratic Party against change. Yet, you have already started to change the Party and together we have transformed this race. Along the way, we've engaged hundreds of thousands of new Americans in the political process, as witnessed by this year's record participation in the primaries and caucuses.'

Future American election strategists are sure to be looking at Harold Dean's campaign to see how such a well supported candidate slumped out of the contest.

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