How exactly did John Kerry win the nomination?

[dudeabides]

Well, a few factors;
1. The populist wing of the party was divided between John Edwards and Dick Gephardt
2. While Wesley Clark was clearly the most electable candidate and the only one who could beat George W. Bush, he began his campaign far too late and lacked some policy specifics in the beginning.
3. While Howard Dean had the support of the grassroots, he was not seen as someone who could win a general election.

John Kerry basically won the nomination by not being Howard Dean, Wesley Clark, John Edwards, or Dick Gephardt. He also had establishment backing and began his campaign early on. If Wesley Clark had began his campaign earlier, he may have been the nominee as he had similar views to Howard Dean on foreign policy, but was far more electable than John Kerry.