Kerry to Tour Pivotal States

Sen. John F. Kerry is planning a tour of several battleground states that will start Friday at his birthplace in Colorado and end next week with his nomination for president at the Democratic National Convention in Boston.

Kerry’s running mate, Sen. John Edwards, will join him at the start of the tour and then campaign on his own before accepting the vice presidential nomination at the convention July 28. Kerry also will be nominated that night; he will give his acceptance speech July 29.

Kerry, Edwards and their families will launch the tour in Aurora, Colo., where Kerry was born in 1943 at an Army hospital. Kerry’s father was stationed there at the time.

The Colorado stop and several others are designed to underscore Kerry’s argument that he would do a better job than President Bush of protecting the nation’s security. Kerry will meet with fellow veterans, including some who served with him in the Vietnam War, his campaign said Monday.

From Colorado, a state that has leaned Republican but which Kerry hopes to capture in November, the Massachusetts senator will head to Sioux City, Iowa; Columbus, Ohio; Cape Canaveral, Fla.; Norfolk, Va.; and Philadelphia.

The schedule will put Kerry on the campaign trail during the opening three days of the convention: Florida on Monday, Virginia on Tuesday and Pennsylvania on Wednesday.

Iowa, Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania are among the states political analysts see as the most competitive between Kerry and Bush.

Though some of Kerry’s stops, such as the one near Norfolk’s Navy base, will be aimed at portraying him as a strong supporter of the military, others will focus on his domestic agenda. In Ohio, a state hit hard by job losses, Kerry plans to focus on the economy; in Florida, his main topic will be cutting the cost of healthcare, his campaign said.

After his appearance with Kerry, Edwards plans to campaign in Milwaukee and his home state, North Carolina, before heading to Boston.

Wisconsin also is viewed as a battleground state. Democrats hope Edwards’ addition to the party’s ticket will make the state more competitive.