Democrats in four Southern states, including the November battleground of Florida, cast ballots on Tuesday in contests that will put John Kerry close to formally clinching the party’s nomination to face President George W. Bush. The Massachusetts Senator, preparing for the match-up with Bush, wrapped up a campaign swing through Florida, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi on Tuesday as he tried to build support in a region that has not been friendly to Democrats in recent presidential polls.In Florida, scene of the recount battle in the disputed 2000 election, Kerry accused Bush on Monday of ‘‘bad, rushed decisions’’ in Iraq that had cost American lives and said he was ready for Republican efforts to tear him down. Bush accused Kerry of being ‘‘deeply irresponsible’’ for proposing cuts in the intelligence budget in 1995, before 9/11, and said ‘‘that is no way to lead our nation in a time of war.’’ The exchanges came as Kerry, who effectively won the right to face Bush last week by driving his last major rival from the race, moved closer to making it official on Tuesday in the four Southern states.At stake were 435 delegates to July’s Democratic convention, enough to put Kerry less than 100 delegates away from the 2,162 needed to mathematically wrap up the nomination. Kerry hopes to improve in November on the Southern showing by Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore in 2000, who was shut out in the region by Bush despite hailing from Tennessee. The last three Democrats elected President — Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton — were from the South, and Kerry’s road to the White House would be much smoother with a strong Southern showing in that region. Kerry said earlier in the year he could capture the White House without winning a Southern state. —(Reuters)
