Sen. John Kerry hopes to build on his lead in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination in primaries Tuesday in Tennessee and Virginia, while rivals Sen. John Edwards and retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark staked their candidacies on strong showings.

Kerry, who's been noticably absent from the Southland, appeared on the stump in Tennessee yesterday and even picked up an endorsement from popular Virginia governor Mark Warner.

However, many Southern Democrats are worried about Kerry's lack of Southern strategy, thinking it could damage him in some of that region's battleground states.

"There should be a Southern strategy in a national campaign for a Democratic candidate," said Tennessee party Chairman Randy Button, who thought Kerry's decision to skip the weekend forum was "a mistake." "If you're looking at November, there are going to be some Southern battleground states. Tennessee is one of them."

Meanwhile Howard Dean skipped the two primaries, stating he has run out of Southwest frequent flyer miles and is stuck at an airport in Wisconsin.

Al Sharpton, who is riding high after a strong showing in inner-city Michigan, is also gaining momentum in the South after receiving an endorsement from self-proclaimed crunk masters The Youngbloodz.