MANCHESTER, N.H. ? Democratic presidential candidates Joe Lieberman and Wesley Clark have decided not to campaign in the initial caucus state of Iowa, gambling on winning the nomination with a later surge in the primary race.

Lieberman and Clark have decided not to spend their money in a state they probably have no chance of winning. Their decisions allow them to shift money to New Hampshire and other states with later contests.

Howard Dean and Dick Gephardt are fighting at the top of the polls in Iowa, with John Kerry also jostling for a top showing in the Jan. 19 caucuses.

Clark spokes-man Matt Bennett said the retired Army general’s month-old campaign could not compete with Dean’s highly organized Iowa field operation or Gephardt’s 15-year history of building relationships there.

“We have made the decision that we don’t have the time or the money to compete there,” Bennett said.

Lieberman will open four new offices in New Hampshire that will be staffed in part by redeployed Iowa field operatives, aides said. He’ll also add staff in South Carolina, Arizona and Oklahoma.

“After much consultation, we decided to focus our resources on where they will prove most effective,” Lieberman campaign manager Craig Smith said in a statement. “Without a doubt, we feel this is the winning strategy for Joe Lieberman to win the nomination.”

All along, Lieberman’s strategy has focused on states beyond New Hampshire, particularly Arizona, Delaware, Oklahoma and South Carolina. Those states have nominating contests Feb. 3.

Bennett said Clark would try to do well in New Hampshire, but does not expect a win there with the lead built by Dean, a former governor of next-door Vermont, and Kerry, a senator from neighboring Massachusetts.

“Let’s face it, we’re running against essentially two favorite sons,” Bennett said. “So we want to do well in New Hampshire, but we are not setting the bar too high.”