Kerry wins in Nevada and Washington DC caucuses

Senator John Kerry continued his winning spree in the Democratic Party presidential caucuses registering an easy victory in the state of Nevada and the US capital, Washington DC, to strengthen his claim to challenge President George W Bush in the November election.

The 60-year-old, four term senator from Massachusetts, won Nevada by an outsized margin on Saturday getting 62 per cent votes against his nearest rival, Howard Dean's 16 per cent. In Washington DC, he scored 46 per cent with his nearest rival, civil rights activist Al Sharpton getting 19 per cent and Dean 17 per cent.

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With this Kerry has collected 577 delegates against the 2,162 required to win the nomination. Dean, the former Vermont governor, has only 188 delegates and John Edwards, the North Carolina Senator, 166.

So far, Kerry has won 14 of the 16 nominating contests held so far.

All eyes are now on Wisconsin state where primaries are due on Tuesday and the result could lead to some of the hopefuls dropping out. Opinion polls show Kerry is leading in that state too.

"Wisconsin can mark the next chapter in the beginning of the end of the Bush presidency," Kerry said in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.