Gore decision leaves race wide open for nomination

Al Gore's surprise decision not to run for president in the 2004 presidential elections leaves the field for the Democratic nomination wide open.

In the shadow of the Bush administration's record popularity levels the Democrats are able to throw up few household names. But Mr Gore's decision not to stand is likely to widen the number of candidates willing to throw their hats into the ring.

If he had stood, Mr Gore was odds on to win the nomination and go forward for a rematch with President Bush.

Possible contenders for the Democratic nomination include senators John Kerry of Massachusetts and John Edwards of North Carolina, as well as Joe Lieberman, Mr Gore's running mate in the failed 2000 election bid. Mr Lieberman had suggested that he would not run against Mr Gore, but with his former running mate out of the picture he is now likely to step in. He said yesterday that he would take "a deep breath" and consider his next move.

The outgoing House of Representatives leader Richard Gephardt, Vermont governor Howard Dean and Tom Daschle, the Senate Democratic leader are also potential candidates.

"The race is really wide open," said one political analyst. "These people are not household names but there is an opportunity for someone to emerge from nowhere. Bill Clinton did that in 1992. If Mr Gore were running they would be constantly measured against him but now they have the chance to prove themselves."

Mr Kerry, an old-style Democrat, had his hopes given a boost by a poll published earlier yesterday which put him a close second with 28% support of the potential primary voters, behind Mr Gore with 31%. Mr Lieberman was third with 10% of the vote, followed by Mr Dean with 6%, Mr Gephardt with 5% and Mr Daschle with 3%.

Mr Edwards got 2% of the vote, and the controversial civil rights candidate the Reverend Al Sharpton took 1%.

Mr Kerry, a Vietnam veteran, has formed an exploratory committee, the first step towards declaring. He is sceptical of the war on terrorism and is keen on finding alternative fuels to lessen the dependence on oil and prevent future conflicts in the Middle East.

Mr Dean is the only declared candidate so far. He is campaigning on a ticket of moving the party back to its core values and away from what he calls an imitation of the Republican party.

Mr Gephardt ran for the nomination in 1998 and aides yesterday said he was "very likely to run" again no matter what Mr Gore had decided. But both Mr Gephardt and Mr Daschle are perceived to have been damaged by the poor showing by the Democrats in the congressional elections at a time when the US economy is faltering.

It was Mr Daschle who conceived the plan of not openly confronting the Bush administration over Iraq in the belief that it would turn voters off.

Mr Edwards is a young, ambitious Southern trial lawyer whose background could help in swinging voters away from Texas's own President Bush.

Although the nomination will not take place for a year, candidates are expected to announce their intention to run in the next few weeks. To make a serious run for president, it is estimated that they need to raise about $100m (£62m).

Of those that are familiar figures, Hillary Clinton, the former first lady, would be a popular candidate but the New York senator promised voters that she would not run for the presidential nomination in two years' time. However, she could still emerge as a contender for the 2008 election when Mr Gore himself could be back in contention.