Richard Gephardt, who led the Democrats in the US House of Representatives for eight years, is to announce soon that he will launch a bid for the White House.

Democratic contenders

Howard Dean: Vermont governor since 1991; keen on health, green issues John Edwards: First-term senator for N Carolina; millionaire former trial lawyer John Kerry: Massachusetts senator in third term; Vietnam veteran

Mr Gephardt, a liberal with strong ties to labour unions, is to hold a fundraising reception on 22 January that is being seen as a first step towards a presidential campaign.

"He has made the decision and he'll make an announcement in the next several days," an unnamed aide told the Reuters news agency.

Mr Gephardt will be the fourth Democrat to announce that he wants to challenge George W Bush in 2004.

Mr Bush will be hard to beat

It will be his second time running.

He made a strong start in 1988 but faded and ran out of funds.

He led the Democrats in the House of Representatives from 1994 to 2002, fighting to wrest control from the Republican Party.

No recovery

The Democrats did gain some ground after their crushing defeat in 1994, but did not regain control of a branch of government that they had dominated for generations.

Mr Gephardt, 61, stepped down as Democrat leader after the November 2002 elections which was a major setback for his party.

He joins a field that is already crowded more than a year before the first state caucus that begins the long road to selecting a party's candidate for the White House.

Mr Lieberman is expected to announce that he will run

John Edwards, a first-term senator from North Carolina, declared his candidacy on 2 January.

Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts and Governor Howard Dean of Vermont have also announced bids.

Senator Joseph Lieberman, who was Al Gore's running mate in 2000, is also widely expected to run for president, and Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota is considered a likely candidate as well.

Mr Gore announced late last year that he would not run in 2004, leaving the party without a clear front-runner.