Clinton in for Mich. primary; Obama, Edwards, Richardson, Biden bow out

LANSING, Mich. — Four Democratic candidates have withdrawn from Michigan's Jan. 15 presidential primary, leaving what amounts to a beauty contest to front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton and a handful of lesser-knowns.

Barack Obama, John Edwards and Bill Richardson filed paperwork Tuesday, the deadline to withdraw from the ballot, said Kelly Chesney, spokeswoman for the Michigan Secretary of State's office.

A fourth candidate, Joe Biden, said in a statement that he was bypassing Michigan's primary.

Later in the day, the Clinton campaign issued a statement saying the New York senator will remain on the ballot.

"We're honoring the pledge and we won't campaign or spend money in states that aren't in compliance with the DNC calendar," said Clinton spokesman Jay Carson. "We don't think it's necessary to remove ourselves from the ballot."

All of the Democratic candidates already have agreed not to campaign in Michigan because it broke Democratic National Committee rules when it moved its primary ahead of Feb. 5.

Other Democratic candidates had until the end of the day to decide if they'll stay on the ballot.

Party rules say states cannot hold their 2008 primary contests before Feb. 5, except for Iowa on Jan. 14, Nevada on Jan. 19, New Hampshire on Jan. 22 and South Carolina on Jan. 29.

The calendar was designed to preserve the traditional role that Iowa and New Hampshire have played in selecting the nominee, while adding two states with more racial and geographic diversity to influential early slots.

As punishment, the DNC has vowed to strip Michigan and Florida, which scheduled its contest on Jan. 29, of their delegates.

"It's yet another reason why we need to get rid of Iowa and New Hampshire going first," said Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer.

He said the state still will hold its joint Democratic-Republican presidential primary on Jan. 15 because it's state law. He declined to speculate about whether Democrats may decide to also hold a presidential caucus on Feb. 9 to officially pick a nominee from the full Democratic field and decide delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

Michigan Republican Party Chairman Saul Anuzis said the decision by the Democrats just opens Michigan to more campaigning by Republicans hoping to win the state and its electoral votes.