John Kerry carries Kansas caucuses

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry romped to an easy victory in Kansas on Saturday.

Kerry's win reportedly locks up the delegates he needs to win his party's nomination.

The Massachusetts senator won the contest with 72 per cent of the vote, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported.

Ohio Representative Dennis Kucinich, considered a long-shot candidate, came in second with 10 per cent of the vote, according to the report.

At stake were 41 delegates to the Democratic National Convention in July in Boston.

US media reported Kerry now has more than the 2,162 convention delegates necessary to lock in the nomination, but a Kerry aide denied the report.

"We expect that Illinois will put us over the top," one of Kerry aides told a news agency, referring to Tuesday's primary in that state.