WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Sen. John Kerry divisively knocked Howard Dean from the front-runner spot in Monday's Iowa caucuses to choose a Democratic U.S. presidential nominee.
With 95 percent of precincts reporting, Kerry had 38 percent, and in a second shock development, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina came in a close second with 32 percent. Dean ended the night with a disappointing 18 percent.
Rep. Dick Gephardt of nearby Missouri had only 11 percent and was expected to drop out of the race.
The results confirmed patterns reported from the Des Moines area by UPI early in the evening and marked one of the most dramatic upheavals in the history of the Iowa caucuses.
Dean now goes into next week's New Hampshire primary with his momentum shattered, facing both a surging Wesley Clark and a dramatically rebounding Kerry.
Edwards' prospects also looked dramatically brighter, at least for a vice presidential nod. Edwards has now shown he can command serious appeal outside his native North Carolina and outside the South.
