By the January 2004 Iowa caucuses, the field had dwindled down to nine candidates, as Bob Graham had dropped out of the race. Howard Dean was a strong front-runner. However, the Iowa caucuses yielded unexpectedly strong results for Democratic candidates John Kerry, who earned 38% of the state's delegates and John Edwards, who took 32%. Former front-runner Howard Dean slipped to 18% and third place, and Richard Gephardt finished fourth (11%). In the days leading up to the Iowa vote, there was much negative campaigning between the Dean and Gephardt camps. COUNT 5
QSN1 How many candidates remained by the end of the Iowa caucuses, in January 2004? ANS1 nine QSN2 Which two candidates had surprising results despite Howard Dean being the strong front-runner? ANS2 John Kerry, who earned 38% of the state's delegates and John Edwards QSN3 Which candidate slipped into third place, following the Iowa caucuses? ANS3 Dean QSN4 Preceding the Iowa caucuses, which candidates used naysaying tactics in their campaigning? ANS4 Dean and Gephardt QSN5 Which candidate dropped out of the race, leaving the field to nine candidates? ANS5 Bob Graham