Democratic presidential hopeful Mr Howard Dean has promised a "long war of attrition" to regain his position as the leading challenger to President George W Bush.
In a an effort to steady his campaign and bring it into the mainstream, he named Washington insider Mr Roy Neel, a longtime aide to former vice president Mr Al Gore, as campaign manager.
Mr Dean's anti-establishment message has gone down badly with voters in the first two states despite him polls initially showing him in front.
In another drastic measure Mr Dean said staff have been asked to defer their pay cheques for two weeks. "I think you're going to see a leaner and meaner organisation," he told reporters. "It's not going to be a front-runner's campaign. It's going to be a long, long war of attrition."
Former campaign manager Mr Joe Trippi, the Internet guru who helped propel Mr Dean from a little-known former governor of a small Northeastern state to the top of the Democratic field, quit rather than accept a different position.
The turmoil in the Dean campaign followed a devastating 20-point loss to Massachusetts Senator John Kerry in Iowa on January 19th and Tuesday loss in New Hampshire.
Mr Neel, a longtime friend and aide of Mr Gore, was also former president Mr Bill Clinton's deputy chief of staff.
Coming off a big win in New Hampshire, Mr John Kerry made the battleground of Missouri his first stop. He is expected to pick up a crucial endorsement in South Carolina on today from influential representative Mr James Clyburn, the state's only black congressman.
The move will be a blow to North Carolina Senator John Edwards, who is counting on a win in his neighbouring state as he hopes to kick-start his so-far steady but unspectacular campaign in his southern heartland.
Mr Edwards flew straight to South Carolina from New Hampshire, where he finished fourth, just behind retired general Mr Wesley Clark, the other southern candidate.
Both men are hoping their credentials as southerners will boost their campaign as voters appear opting the person tehey think most likely to remove Mr Bush. The last three Democrats elected to the White House were from the South.