US Democrat candidate Mr Howard Dean said today his once high-flying US presidential bid would be over if he did not win the Wisconsin primary on February 17th.
"We must win Wisconsin," the former Vermont governor said in a memo to supporters. "A win there will carry us to the big states on March 2nd - and narrow the field to two candidates. Anything else will put us out of the race."
In a fundraising plea, Mr Dean, who spent $40 million on a gamble that he could wrap up the Democratic presidential nomination with early victories in Iowa and New Hampshire, asked supporters for $50 contributions so he could raise $700,000 by Sunday to pay for advertising in Wisconsin.
"We must launch our new television advertisement on Monday in the major markets in Wisconsin," he said. "To do that I need your help."
Mr Dean has not won any of the nine contests held so far to choose the Democratic challenger to Republican President George W. Bush in November.
In Iowa and New Hampshire, he finished far behind US Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts and on Tuesday he did not have a top two result in any of the seven states that held contests.