The State
Sunday 27 January 2008
Former N.C. Sen. John Edwards said he will not drop out of the 2008 race for president, despite a distant third-place finish Saturday in the S.C. Democratic primary.
"We're very encouraged," Edwards said after the vote. "Clearly we have a three-person race. I'm in this for the long haul."
Edwards was rejected firmly at the polls in his native state, however, making his prospects look increasingly grim in his second presidential bid.
The Edwards campaign said it would go on to Tennessee, Missouri and Georgia to campaign ahead of the 22-state, Feb. 5 Super Tuesday primaries. "I still believe I'm the strongest general election candidate," Edwards said, adding that his campaign is on sound financial footing to wage a national campaign. He reported raising $3 million this month so far.
A native of Seneca, Edwards won the S.C. Democratic primary in 2004 in a stunning upset of eventual party nominee Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, winning nearly half the state's overall vote, including more than a third of the black vote.
He went on to become Kerry's running mate, though they failed to carry GOP-dominated South Carolina or any other Southern state, including North Carolina, where Edwards resides, in November.
As in 2004, Edwards came into South Carolina sorely in need of a victory, trailing Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Clinton of New York, each of whom now has won two of the four critical early primary states' votes.
Campaigning late last week, Edwards was upbeat after some polls showed him moving toward a possible second-place finish, ahead of Clinton.
In the end, he received roughly a fifth of the vote, while Clinton won nearly a third.
Edwards, 54, is well-known for growing up in an Upstate cotton mill village, where he, his parents and extended family members worked, eking out a living spinning cloth from cotton.
But he went on to graduate from N.C. State University and the University of North Carolina's law school. Then he earned millions representing small clients against the medical industry in malpractice lawsuits.
As he did in 2004, Edwards characterized his life's journey as a fulfillment of the American dream. His message of empowering the middle class and lower-income Americans, along with providing universal health care and stopping the influence of lobbyists on Congress, is popular among Democrats.
But Edwards again struggled to be something other than a consistent third wheel in a star-powered, two-person race for his party's nomination.
Rather than playing the spoiler role some have said he has in mind, Edwards said he must continue running to "give voice to all those voices that are not being heard."
Valerie Ingram of Columbia was among the disappointed supporters. She, too, felt Edwards had made headway and thinks he has a great message.
"I'll tell you something else I like about John," Ingram said. "Elizabeth. She is remarkable. She is an inspiration to us all."
Edwards' family became an integral part of his campaign. His wife, Elizabeth, was diagnosed with an incurable reappearance of cancer last year soon after Edwards announced his 2008 bid. She urged him to run and is campaigning for him.
As he leaves the state, there is pressure on Edwards to drop out of the race. There also is notable pressure on him to remain.
A letter he received from Martin Luther King III, son of the legendary late civil rights leader, after visiting with King over last week's King holiday weekend, reflects some of that support.
"I appreciate that on the major issues of health care, the environment, and the economy, you have framed the issues for what they are - a struggle for justice. And, you have almost single-handedly made poverty an issue in this election," the letter said.
"So, I urge you: keep going. Ignore the pundits, who think this is a horse race, not a fight for justice. Keep going. Keep fighting. My father would be proud."
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