US:DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL Committee (DNC) chairman Howard Dean has told Florida and Michigan that they must hold new primaries or caucuses if they want their states' delegates to vote at the Democratic convention next August.
Mr Dean ruled out recognising delegates chosen in unauthorised primaries in both states in January, which Hillary Clinton won.
"The rules were set a year and a half ago," Mr Dean said. "Florida and Michigan voted for them, then decided that they didn't need to abide by the rules . . . Everybody has to play by the rules out of respect for both campaigns and the other 48 states."
The governors of both states have expressed interest in holding new contests but they will not bear the cost - estimated at $25 million (€16 million) in Florida alone.
Mr Dean said yesterday that the DNC would not pay for them either and that it was up to the state parties to find the money.
"We can't afford to do that. That's not our problem. We need our money to win the presidential race," he said.
None of the Democratic candidates campaigned in Michigan or Florida and all but Mrs Clinton and Ohio congressman Dennis Kucinich removed their names from the ballot in Michigan.
Until this week, however, Mrs Clinton has insisted that the delegates chosen in the disputed primaries should be seated at the convention in Denver.
After her victories in Ohio and Texas on Tuesday, Mrs Clinton's campaign has softened its position and now appears to endorse the idea of holding the primaries again, although it is cooler on the prospect of caucuses.
Caucuses are cheaper than primaries because they involve fewer votes and do not require polling stations to stay open all day.
Barack Obama has generally fared better than Mrs Clinton in caucuses, partly because his supporters are better organised and better off, so they are more likely to be free to attend at the appointed time.
Mrs Clinton believes she can win again in Michigan and Florida, strengthening her claim that she outperforms Mr Obama in the big, battleground states. Mr Obama's campaign said it was up to the party to decide what to do about Michigan and Florida.
"We're going to abide by their rules as they exist now and whatever happens in the future," campaign manager David Plouffe said.
"I don't think it's for our campaign or her campaign - we're in a heated contest here - to have to be the facilitators here. This is between the DNC and those state parties." Wyoming holds a caucus tomorrow and Mississippi votes in a primary next Tuesday, the last contests before Pennsylvania votes on April 22nd. Mr Obama signalled after his three losses this week that he will take a more aggressive approach towards Mrs Clinton in the weeks ahead.
Mrs Clinton's campaign yesterday compared Mr Obama's promise to question his opponent's record to the investigation into the Clintons by special prosecutor Ken Starr in the 1990s.
"After a campaign in which many of the questions that voters had in the closing days centred on concerns that they had over his state of preparedness to be commander in chief and steward of the economy, he has chosen instead of addressing those issues to attack Senator Clinton," Clinton campaign spokesman Harold Wolfson said.
"I for one do not believe that imitating Ken Starr is the way to win a Democratic primary election for president. But perhaps that theory will be tested."
A new Washington Post/ABC News poll suggests that either Mr Obama or Mrs Clinton would defeat Republican presumptive nominee John McCain in November, although Mr Obama would win by a bigger margin.
According to the poll, Mr Obama would defeat Mr McCain by 12 points and Mrs Clinton would win by six.
Mr Obama announced yesterday that he raised a record $55 million during February, compared to $35 million raised by Mrs Clinton. Mr Obama has raised a total of $193 million since his campaign started a year ago.
Mrs Clinton, who had to lend her campaign $5 million at the end of January, said yesterday that, since her victories on Tuesday, she has taken in $4 million in online contributions.