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June 14, 2003
Dean Easily Wins Wisconsin Democratic Straw Poll

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Reuters) - Former Vermont governor Howard Dean easily won the first straw poll of the 2004 presidential race at the Wisconsin Democratic convention on Saturday in a contest that national party officials and campaign organizations derided as a waste of time.
Dean, who spoke at the convention on Friday night, trounced the other eight Democratic presidential contenders in the unofficial poll sponsored by two political Web sites, winning 203 votes to 50 for the second-place finisher, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry.
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June 15, 2003

"Trying to please everybody never works for Democrats," said Drumer, who is still undecided in the Democratic race. "You have to stand for something."

That view, echoed by many of the delegates in Milwaukee, is great news for candidates like former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, whose outspoken opposition to the war in Iraq vaulted him from obscurity to the top tier of candidates and has fired up the party's liberal wing.