With the victory of John Kerry in the Iowa caucus Monday, some students are surprised that previous Democratic presidential front-runner Howard Dean placed third.

"I didn't expect Dean to come in third. It really surprised me that [Dick] Gephardt didn't place in the top three," said Jessica Hopkins, president of College Democrats.

Hopkins added that the results of the Iowa caucus affected the candidates in a variety of ways.

"For [John] Edwards, it means large, positive press coverage. It gave Kerry a leg to stand on. It's going to test Dean's metal. I wouldn't count anybody out yet," Hopkins said.

Negative campaign advertisements by Dean and Gephardt played a role in Kerry's win and the second-place finish by Edwards, Hopkins added.

"I think in Iowa, it turned people off. Negative campaigning can work to some degree, but you've got to be careful," she said.

Sean Misko, president of the Political Science Association, was not surprised by Kerry's victory.

"I think the real surprise is that Howard Dean came in third. For a first test, he didn't do too well," Misko said.

Misko said Edward's positive campaign has benefited his election chances, but negative campaign advertisements help draw a comparison between the candidates.

James Eisenstein, political science professor, said he thinks the negative comments between the candidates will eventually stop.

"I think by the time the general election comes around, most of this will pass, and people will focus on other things," he said.

Despite any negative campaigning, Eisenstein said he believes the democratic candidates all have issue-based campaigns.

"I think that this is an issue-driven contest. People are talking about issues and making proposals," Eisenstein said.

However, no particular issue appears to be dominating the early primary season.

"That's not easy to say at this point because events will help determine what issues are important. It might even be difficult to identify one issue as most important," Eisenstein said.

"I think that healthcare is going to be an important issue because all of the Democratic candidates are going to make it an issue, and the president is going to have to respond," Eisenstein added.

Misko said one issue simply will not occupy the primary elections because Democratic voters are just looking for a candidate who can beat the current Republican, President George W. Bush.

"I think that in the primaries, Democrats are looking for a candidate who can beat Bush -- one who can stand up to him on national security and challenge him on domestic issues," he said.

"Kerry and [Wesley] Clark certainly have the national security credentials," Misko said.

He added that at this point, any one of the candidates could win the nomination.

"It really blows things wide open. You still have three or four people who can win this thing," he said.

Hopkins said the race is still "anybody's game."

However, Misko said Kerry certainly benefited by the win in Iowa.

"I think Kerry has a lot of momentum going into New Hampshire," Misko said.

Whether the early primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire prove important to the nominee still remains to be seen.

President Bush lost the New Hampshire primary in 2000, but won the Republican nomination over John McCain.