Who Can Stop Dean

[agcatter]

That would be sweet!

[Filuwaúrdjan]

See my comments in another thread about why I doubt that.

[Nym90]

Someone will emerge as the anti-Dean candidate though at some point, and the race will become a 2-man race. Nominating contests almost always ultimately come down to 2 candidates before one wins. Dean must expand his base in order to win the nomination, and he will have to attract a significant number of voters who are currently supporting other candidates once those candidates drop out. So whose voters will go to Dean once he drops out? Kerry's? Most people here seem to agree that Kerry's support would not be likely to go to Dean. Lieberman's? Probably his supporters would go to Clark or Edwards. Gephardt's? More likely to go Dean, but still not definitively. Edwards or Clark? Probably not.
I'd be interested to hear what others here think will happen once other candidates begin dropping out, but it would seem to me that Dean is not the best positioned to pick up support from other candidates once they drop out. He only has about 20% of Dems now, so once the race becomes a 2 or 3 man race he obviously will have to expand on his base quite a bit.

[emergingDmajority1]

well, perhaps Dean picks up the Kucinich/Sharpton/Braun supporters. Or maybe most of them will just go green or not vote at all.

If Lieberman drops out his supporters will splinter to Clark, Edwards, and Gephardt, not so much Kerry.

The Kerry supporters wouldn't bother with Dean. And Kerry is close to Edwards, so perhaps most of them will gravitate towards him and the remnants to Gep and Clark.

[Apostle]

John Kerry has beaten Dean, but i think he will lose to Bush in the race.

[Justin]

I think you should have included Howard Dean. That's clearly how he lost. His own gaffes and his temper are what cost him the nomination.