John Edwards to Keep Senate Options Open
Thu Apr 3, 2:41 AM ET Add Elections - AP to My Yahoo!
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By SCOTT MOONEYHAM, Associated Press Writer
RALEIGH, N.C. - John Edwards' presidential aspirations are competing with the equally pressing task of shoring up his political support back home.
The Democratic senator from North Carolina has not ruled out running for a second term in 2004 if his White House bid falters. While state law allows him to seek both offices, not even Edwards' confidants expect him to take that path.
Recent polls have shown that more North Carolina voters disapprove than approve of Edwards' presidential run. A statewide poll also showed President Bush (news - web sites) handily defeating Edwards in a hypothetical general election matchup.
Edwards has responded by increasing his appearances in North Carolina and playing up positions that are likely to appeal to the state's voters. On Thursday, he planned to join Bush in a visit to Camp Lejeune, making the trip to the Marine base with the president on Air Force One. Last week, he met with soldiers and their families at Fort Bragg, restating his support for the U.S.-led war against Iraq (news - web sites).
Edwards has made a point of meeting with local government officials and North Carolina farmers to discuss their concerns. At a policy speech in Washington in March, he replaced references to out-of-state companies, included in an early draft of the speech, with names of North Carolina companies.
Unlike some of his rivals for the Democratic nomination, Edwards faces competing pressures to remain a viable candidate with the party's more liberal rank and file while keeping his re-election hopes alive with the predominantly conservative North Carolina electorate.
"Issues do come up that put him in a quandary, and if those become serious enough they might force him to choose earlier" between a White House bid and a Senate run, said Ted Arrington, a political science professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Arrington cited issues such as tobacco lawsuits that could prove difficult for Edwards, but he predicted that the lawmaker will wait until the fall, to gauge his fund-raising success, before deciding on either the White House or the Senate. The timing would be months before the presidential primaries and the February 2004 filing deadline for the Senate.
Edwards moved up in the presidential sweepstakes Tuesday when he announced that he had raised $7.4 million in the first three months of the year.
Still, some Democrats and Republicans say the pressure is increasing on Edwards to choose, and they expect a decision before the fall.
One of the state's more prominent Democrats said Edwards' own party, intent on keeping his seat, will bring pressure if his presidential prospects dim. Erskine Bowles, White House chief of staff during the Clinton administration, has said he will run if Edwards does not seek re-election. Bowles lost to Republican Elizabeth Dole (news - web sites) in last fall's contest for North Carolina's other Senate seat.
But Mac McCorkle, a campaign consultant who has worked for Bowles, said no one needs to tell Edwards that he is juggling a lot of different interests.
"I think everybody understands that he is a savvy, smart guy. He's not clueless. He understands this," McCorkle said. "Right now, there is no external pressure."
Republicans, meanwhile, are looking for Edwards to stumble as he tries to balance his presidential bid with the demands from his home state.
"The longer he stays out, the more damage he does to his chances to be re-elected," said Bill Cobey, chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party. "I think John Edwards is really rolling the dice; he is playing big stakes poker."
Republican Rep. Richard Burr (news, bio, voting record), who has the White House's backing, is considered the favorite to take his party's nomination. Burr's status as an early favorite has not been lost on Democrats; for weeks, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has been putting out news releases criticizing him.
In a sign that Edwards understands the political dynamic, he is sending his wife, Elizabeth, to the New Hampshire Democratic Convention this weekend, while he attends a Democratic Party event in western North Carolina.
Ed Turlington, Edwards' campaign chairman, dismisses suggestions that the candidate is hedging his political bets.
"He has great support at home, and by coming here he gets the benefits of that support," Turlington said. |
