But others' expectations were dashed. Clark had hoped to do far better than a distant fourth in South Carolina, where he had spent more on TV advertising than anyone else, and where he had hoped his military record would draw votes.

Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut did poorly across the map and dropped out of the race.

The other two active candidates, the Rev. Al Sharpton and Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, have long vowed not to quit. Sharpton appeared to be short of his hope of winning delegates in South Carolina with a distant third-place showing.

With Kerry's national momentum and Edwards' regional victory Tuesday, it is now back to the future for the Democrats.

As their presidential field was forming, Kerry's experience and national stature made him an early favorite. Edwards raised eyebrows and expectations with early fund-raising successes in 2003.

But by year's end, each man had faltered far behind the Internet-fueled march of Dean, who was far ahead in early primary and caucus polls. But Dean the person has not matched up to Dean the phenom. And Clark's resume has not been compelling enough to eliminate doubts about his political experience and Democratic pedigree.

While he won impressively in South Carolina, Edwards' distant second-place finish to Kerry in the swing state of Missouri was not a good sign for someone hoping to show broad appeal for a general election.

Tuesday's results "give him encouragement to continue, but it also puts a lot of need for him to demonstrate his support far outside the region," said Jack Fleer, a political scientist at Wake Forest University.

Up next: Michigan and Washington state, where Kerry has put a lot of focus and has endorsements from both governors. These two states hold caucuses Saturday, and a Detroit News tracking poll showed Kerry holding a comfortable lead in Michigan.

Edwards has cast his immediate lot with Virginia and Tennessee. He will campaign in each state Wednesday. They will hold primaries Feb. 10 and are potentially more favorable ground for the North Carolina senator.

So by virtue of the calendar, Wisconsin is then the key primary before a March 2 Super Tuesday contest in 10 states, in which more than half of the 2,162 delegates necessary to win the nomination will be up for grabs.

"My feeling is Edwards would be helped by winning Virginia and Tennessee, but would be more helped by beginning to focus on places like Wisconsin," said Fleer, who has watched Edwards' relatively short seven-year political career in North Carolina.