Reply #29: If Dean had been a better candidate, he'd have won Iowa. [View All]

[Julien Sorel]

He's a governor.

Kerry essentially started from nowhere in Iowa and clawed his way to the top. Given the money situation, that would have been next to impossible in a state like Michigan, or worse, California or Pennsylvania. Edwards also clawed his way to the top on limited funds, on the strength of his campaigning.

It seems to me large state primaries actually favor established candidates. Kerry was the early favorite, and did well in fundraising. Lieberman also did well in early fundraising, as did Edwards. That would have allowed them to take an early lead in big states with expensive media markets, and who knows how things would have gone then? What I like about the small state primaries is the relative cheapness of it. It's a much more democratic process, I
think.