WASHINGTON, March 2 (UPI) -- Howard Dean won his first primary election Tuesday -- claiming the vote in his home state two weeks after dropping out of the presidential race.
With 92 percent of the precincts counted late Tuesday, Dean had 58 percent of the vote, with Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., second with 34 percent. Rep. Dennis Kuninich, D-Ohio, was third with 4 percent.
Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., was not on the ballot, bypassing the Vermont deadline because favorite son Dean, who was elected governor five times by Vermonters, was still in the race,
Dean opened the election season riding high in the polls and with a large advantage in fundraising, but began to plummet in both categories once the voting began, starting with the Iowa caucuses. Dean withdrew from the race Feb. 18 without a primary or caucus victory.
And in a statement Tuesday night, Dean thanked his fellow Vermonters.
"This win means so much to me. ... This party and this country still needs change, and tonight you have helped further that process," he said.
There are 15 Democratic Party National Convention delegates at stake in Vermont primary, the smallest prize of the 10-state Super Tuesday vote.
