Kerry secures party's nomination

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, making the Democratic presidential nomination his own, promised cheering supporters Tuesday night, "We will win this election and we will build one America of freedom and fairness for all."

"Change is coming to America," vowed the four-term senator, who heads into an eight-month general election campaign leading President Bush in the nationwide polls.

Eager to turn his attention to the general election, Kerry marked his victory by ordering aides to set up a process for reviewing potential vice presidential running mates, according to senior advisers. They said it was possible Kerry would choose a nominee well before the Democratic nominating convention in July.

Kerry rolled up huge Super Tuesday triumphs in California, New York, Ohio, Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Minnesota and his home state of Massachusetts, as well as a razor-thin win in Georgia. Former Gov. Howard Dean denied Kerry a sweep, winning his home state of Vermont.

In all, 10 states with a combined population of 94 million -- one-third of the U.S. total -- awarded 1,151 delegates, more than half of the 2,162 needed to seize the nomination.

Kerry, a 60-year-old senator, had 1,018 delegates to Edwards' 329. Dean had 182 and Al Sharpton 22.

Kerry's top challenger, North Carolina senator John Edwards, called Kerry early in the evening, signaling an end to his challenge. Kerry's spokesman, David Wade, said that in the talk, Edwards implied that he would drop out and added he wanted to sit down with Kerry to talk about unifying the party.

Wade said they discussed how they "rode out the tough times" and the contributions and sacrifices their wives have made throughout the campaign.

Moments later, speaking in public, Kerry praised Edwards, saying he offers "great promise for leadership for the years to come." In television interviews, Kerry declined to discuss potential running mates, but other Democrats have frequently said Edwards had earned consideration for a spot on the ticket.

Kerry received a call from Bush, as well.

"You had an important victory tonight," the president told Kerry, adding that he looked forward to a "spirited fight."

In an interview, the senator said he told the president, "I hope we can have a great debate about the future of our country and the direction our nation needs to go and the choices that are critical to the people."

In remarks to supporters, Kerry said he would campaign to repeal Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy, raise the minimum wage, protect the environment and to make health care more widely available.

In a dare to the president, oft-repeated in campaign stops, he said if the commander in chief wants to make the election a referendum on national security, "Bring it on."