John Kerry is to become the Democratic challenger of George W. Bush in the US presidential election this November after winning nine out of 10 "Super Tuesday" states. Exit polls and first results showed him eclipsing his main rival, John Edwards, from California on the west coast to New York in the east. Mr Edwards is expected to announce on Wednesday that he is quitting the race. President George W Bush phoned to tell Mr Kerry he anticipated a "spirited race" with him. "We had a very nice conversation," said the Massachusetts senator, before condemning the incumbent's "inept" policies and promising to repair America's foreign partnerships, bringing it back into the "community of nations". Results Ohio: Kerry win Maryland: Kerry win Massachusetts: Kerry win Connecticut: Kerry win New York: Kerry win Rhode Island: Kerry win Georgia: Kerry win Vermont: Dean win California: Kerry win Minnesota: Kerry win "The message could not be clearer," said Mr Kerry in his victory speech. "All across our country change is coming to America. "I believe that in 2004 - with one united Democratic Party - we can and we will win this election." Apart from New York and California, Mr Kerry won in Ohio, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, Rhode Island, Minnesota and - narrowly - Georgia. Prior to the "Super Tuesday" polls, Mr Kerry had won 18 of the 20 states contested in the race for the nomination. Mr Edwards, a North Carolina senator, has had one victory - in his native state of South Carolina. In the one surprise of the night, Howard Dean, who had already abandoned his bid for the candidacy, won in Vermont by a margin of two to one. He previously served as governor there. Click here to see a graph showing delegates up for grabs Tuesday's voters elected 1,151 delegates to the Democratic Party convention in July - a figure which represents 53% of the total number needed for a candidate to secure the nomination. Vice president? Mr Edwards himself gave no indication he was ending his bid as results streamed in on Tuesday night but, in a speech delivered in Atlanta, Georgia, he offered his congratulations to Mr Kerry. However, campaign sources who spoke to the AP and AFP news agencies said the end was in sight. Edwards has been putting a brave face on his losses "I'm afraid it's true," said one. "He's dropped out. It looks like the end." Mr Edwards earlier rejected the suggestion that he might run as Mr Kerry's vice-presidential candidate. However, Mr Kerry hinted that he might consider his rival for the vice-presidency saying he had "great respect" for him. In California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was holding a victory rally to celebrate a separate vote on his controversial plan to save the state from financial ruin. Californians appeared to have approved the issuing of a $15bn bond to pay off some of the state's huge debts. Real battle begins In his victory speech in Washington, Mr Kerry attacked President Bush's foreign policy as "the most inept, reckless, arrogant and ideological" in modern US history. KEY CAMPAIGN DATES 9 March - Primaries in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas 26-29 July - Democrat national convention in Boston 30 Aug-2 Sep - Republican national convention in New York 2 Nov - Presidential election "If George Bush wants to make national security the central issue of the campaign of 2004, I have three words for him, and I know he understands - bring it on." He warned of the Republican party's "attack machine" but said his campaign was equal to the task. Mr Bush is set to launch his own campaign on Thursday with a multi-million-dollar TV advertising campaign. His message of congratulations to Mr Kerry was tempered by an appearance on television by Vice-President Dick Cheney, who condemned the senator's record. "He very clearly has over the years adopted a series of positions that indicate a desire to cut the defence budget, cut the intelligence budget, to eliminate many major weapons programmes," he said. Mr Cheney confirmed he would be running for vice-president again with Mr Bush.