Voting has started in today's crucial contest, dubbed 'Super Tuesday', as the US Democratic Party attempts to select its presidential candidate for the forthcoming US presidential elections.
Senator John Kerry, who has dominated the Democratic presidential battle with 18 wins in the first 20 contests, is favored in all 10 of the Super Tuesday states on the biggest day of voting in the race.
His opponent, John Edwards is hoping to spring a few upsets that could keep his campaign alive for at least another week. Edwards, a North Carolina senator, has only had one victory to date - in his native state of South Carolina.
Roughly a quarter of all American voters will be represented in today's polls which take place in New York, California, Ohio, Massachusetts, Georgia, Minnesota, Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Vermont.
At stake are a total of 1,151 delegates to July's nominating convention - more than half of the 2,162 delegates needed to win and the campaign's largest one-day haul.
Kerry warned this morning that he took nothing for granted on Super Tuesday and would campaign to the end.
"I have never trusted the polls. I have always said when I am behind and when I'm ahead that you take nothing for granted. You just campaign very hard and that is what I am doing," he told NBC's "Today" show.
Edwards has targeted Ohio, Georgia and Minnesota for possible victories and shrugged off questions about whether he would get out of the race if he is swamped today.
"I plan to be in this until I'm nominated," he said. "We have always been going up and surging at the end. We'll have to wait and see what happens."
In an interview with a Georgia television station, Kerry said he had "a stronger, longer, broader, deeper record than John Edwards" and questioned whether Edwards had as much experience at putting people back to work, providing health care or on national security.
Edwards, a first-term senator from North Carolina, has put his plans to create more opportunities for American workers and stem the flow of US jobs to foreign countries at the center of his campaign.
He has conceded he is running out of time to turn around the race against Kerry, who holds a 3-to-1 edge in delegates, unless he racks up some wins quickly. "At some point I've got to get more delegates or I'm not going to be the nominee," he said.
Kerry was asked today whether he was considering Edwards as his running mate if he won the Democratic Party nomination. Kerry replied it was premature to discuss this.
"If I am entrusted with the nomination, I can promise you this, I will try to find the best person to be vice president. I have great, great respect for John Edwards. He's run a terrific campaign and he's still competing," he told ABC's "Good Morning America" show.