(2004-01-21) — The latest Washington Post-ABC News overnight poll shows Howard Dean leading John F. Kerry in the race to be the underdog in the New Hampshire primary.
Pollsters asked a representative sample of registered Democrat voters in New Hampshire: “Who among the remaining seven candidates seems likely to come in second in the state’s presidential primary?”
Slightly more than 38 percent said Howard Dean and 36 percent said John F. Kerry.
“This poll shows what we’ve claimed all along,” said Mr. Dean. “If you had told me a year ago that I would get only 18 percent in Iowa, be slipping in the polls in New Hampshire, and have all the news channels repeatedly running a clip of me squealing like a stuck pig, I would have been delighted.”
However, Senator Kerry refuted Mr. Dean’s claim to underdog status.
“Even in the race for underdog, I’m running behind Howard,” said Mr. Kerry. “That proves that I’m the quintessential underdog. I am a modern day Shoe Shine Boy. I am the 21st century SeaBiscuit.”
Meanwhile, rivals Al Sharpton and Dennis Kucinich each issued statements claiming to be “the frontrunner, and presumptive nominee.”
