WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 (KUNA) — Former North Carolina senator John Edwards, the U.S. Democratic Party vice presidential nominee in 2004, will announce today (Wednesday) that he is ending his campaign for the U.S. presidency, sources close to the senator said.
Edwards, who failed to win a primary or caucus this year as he battled senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for support, will make the announcement in New Orleans, sources said.
While Edwards came in second in the Iowa caucuses, since then he has consistently placed third, including in the Florida primary on Tuesday and in South Carolina, the state where he was born, on Saturday.
The development is significant because Edwards supporters will now choose between Clinton and Obama on Tuesday, when 22 states hold their primaries or caucuses, awarding more than half the delegates needed to capture the Democratic presidential nomination.
Analysts said the decision by Edwards, 54, to quit the race now will likely increase the odds of him being offered the vice presidential slot on the ticket, should he want to accept that role again, as he did in 2004. However, Edwards has said he would not do so. But Edwards also said just days ago that he would remain in the campaign until the Democratic convention takes place in August.
Edwards campaigned on a populist theme calling for an end to poverty and was the most liberal candidate on the issues of jobs and health care. He advocated pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq as soon as possible and not keeping any troops there or leaving U.S. troops in Iraq at military bases. (