Edwards drops out of race

By Mary Daly

Published Feb. 1, 2008

With less than a week to go until Super Tuesday, former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., dropped out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Edwards announced the end of his bid while visiting New Orleans, the city where he launched his campaign in 2006.

“It is time for me to step aside so that history can blaze its path,” Edwards said in a speech in New Orleans on Wednesday.

Edwards failed to win any of the party nomination contests. He had a total of 26 delegates, compared to Sen. Hillary Clinton’s, D-N.Y., 48 and Sen. Barack Obama’s, D-Ill., 63.

The former Senator came in second in Iowa’s caucus and third in Nevada, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida.

According to CNN.com, an aide to Edwards said the candidate was not leaving the race because of his wife’s cancer or a lack of funding. He stated that Edwards was not getting enough media attention to win the number of delegates he needed to be a frontrunner.

“This son of a mill worker is going to be just fine,” Edwards said. “Our job now is to make certain that America will be fine.”

On Tuesday, just one day before Edwards officially dropped out of the race, he spoke fervently in Jefferson City about helping the American working class. “We need a president of the United States who understands what you’re going through,” Edwards said. “We need a president who will be a champion for the middle class.”

Edwards had planned to make health care universal, keep jobs in America and put money into cleaner energy sources. He also promoted higher education, wanted to raise minimum wage and strengthen the union movement.

Edwards was also campaigning in Springfield, Mo., on Monday evening, so the announcement on Wednesday came as a surprise.

Now Edwards leaves his agenda to the other Democratic presidential contenders.

Before officially dropping out of the race, Edwards made phone calls to Clinton and Obama. He asked them to make fighting poverty a top issue in each of their campaigns.

“They have pledged to me that as president of the United States they will make ending poverty and economic inequality central to their presidency,” Edwards said.

Edwards does not plan to endorse Obama or Clinton now, but he might in the future.

“We do not know who will take the final steps to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., but what we do know is that our Democratic Party will make history,” Edwards said.

While he campaigned in Denver on Wednesday, Obama released a statement saying that Edwards had spent a “lifetime fighting to give voice to the voiceless.”

Clinton also congratulated Edwards for his zeal to help working-class Americans.

“John ran with compassion and conviction,” Clinton said while on a campaign stop in Arkansas on Wednesday.

It is too soon to tell where Edwards’ supporters will now turn.

“It narrows down the playing field a lot,” said Emily Singleton, a member of Mizzou Students for Hillary. “I have faith that Hillary is strong enough to sway the voters.”

Supporters for Obama were optimistic that Edwards’ exit from the campaign will help their candidate.

“I’d like to say that Edwards’ votes will go mostly to Obama,” Mizzou for Obama member Manasa Vedula said. “Both candidates seemed to draw similar types of voters.”

Nate Kennedy, College Democrats of Missouri president, had predicted that Edwards would end his presidential bid and transferred his support to Barack Obama.

“Obama and Edwards both have inspiringS messages that attract many Americans,” Kennedy said. “I also believe that Edwards’ followers are mostly the anti-Hillary vote, so many of them will end up supporting Obama.”

With his votes now up for grabs, Edwards might still have one more important part to play in the Democratic primary.