BOSTON, July 28 (UPI) -- Democratic Party delegates from the Bible Belt state of North Carolina want very much to put a Southern Democrat back in the White House, and they said they would vote overwhelmingly in Wednesday's roll call for presumed Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts to try and achieve that goal.
A vote for Kerry is a vote for former Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards, North Carolina delegates said in their morning caucus before the third day of the Democratic National Convention convened in Boston. Edwards, a U.S. senator from North Carolina, who dropped his presidential bid in March, joined the Kerry ticket as the vice presidential nominee in early July after a week of heavy speculation.
"I think he's showed during his Senate service and during the campaign he's ready for national leadership," said Ed Turlington, a Raleigh, N.C., lawyer who was chairman Edwards' presidential campaign.
Many pundits were quick to write off Edwards, 51, when he announced his bid for the presidency five years into his first U.S. Senate term, saying his political résumé was too short. Still, Edwards' boyish good looks and Southern charm, coupled with a dazzling fundraising ability turned him into a surprise star on the campaign trail and in the early primaries. He raised more than $33.4 million for his campaign through May 31.
Edwards beat Kerry by a wide margin in an April 17 North Carolina caucus with 51 percent of the vote, according to unofficial returns, but he had already thrown his support behind Kerry. Edwards sent letters to his supporters asking them to do the same. Of the state's 107 delegates, about 60 are pledged to Edwards, Turlington said. Nationally, there are about 536 delegates pledged to Edwards. A total 2,162 delegates are needed to clinch the party's nomination.
There was little need for Turlington's call Wednesday urging Democratic delegates pledged to Edwards to get behind Kerry. The morning caucus was little more than a pep rally despite a remaining few delegates who wore T-shirts in favor of former presidential hopeful Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio.
"Our senator has led us to this point," Turlington told about 200 delegates.
State Democratic Party Chairwoman Barbara Allen said she was "just elated."
"I'm on Cloud 9," Allen said.
Edwards left the race with his popularity intact, which likely worked in his favor when he set out fundraising for the Kerry campaign. Edwards campaigned tirelessly for Kerry well before receiving the vice presidential nod July 5.
"He proved during the campaign that he's an excellent campaigner," Turlington said. "John Edwards got over 2.7 million votes. Nationally, he raised over $20 million. He does a great job. Subsequently, he's shown he's ready, and politically, he's an asset."
Delegates say they see Edwards as a way out of the economic doldrums that has depressed southeastern farmers in rural portions of the state and in the South in recent years. Edwards has also said he supports legislation that would create a federal tobacco-buyout program.
Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-N.C., said Edwards' background growing up in the rural textile town of Robbins, N.C., has given him a deep understanding of the needs of his rural constituents. McIntyre's two sons, Joshua and Stephen, are interns for Edwards in Washington.
"He's been to our area, he knows individual people. He knows what the individual concerns are," McIntyre said. "That makes a world of difference when you're trying to cut through the red tape of getting things done in Washington."
The question remains whether North Carolina voters will stand up for their new favorite son during November's general election. Republicans have been quick to label Edwards, a trial lawyer who scored millions of dollars in settlements for his clients during the 1980s and '90s, little more than an ambulance chaser with scant political experience.
Edwards' most notable case, in 1997, ended in a $25 million jury verdict for a 5-year-old girl whose intestines were sucked out by a malfunctioning pool drain.
"I think the argument about him being a trial lawyer has backfired," McIntyre said. "The people that he represented had very unfortunate situations."
The state last voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in 1976.
Residents in Edwards' hometown either love him or despise him. Some like the notoriety and attention his candidacy has brought to the small textile town, while others accuse him of deserting its residents after heading to Raleigh with his law degree.
Democrats say Edward's lack of inside-the-beltway experience works to his credit. They love Edwards' charm, his Southern drawl and the ease with which he connects to his audience. Pundits have called Edwards' addition to the Kerry ticket a compliment to the campaign, saying his charm works as a crutch to bolster Kerry's somewhat stunted New England attitude.
"I hope that helps. I think a lot of Southern voters will tune into that," Turlington said.
Still, noticeably missing from Edward's campaign stops have been key top North Carolina Democrats, including U.S. Senate candidate Erskine Bowles and Democratic Gov. Mike Easley.
Easley spokesman Ernie Seneca could not be reached for comment. Easley endorsed Edwards during his presidential bid with a stop in Iowa.
Bowles appeared onstage at a July 10 Kerry-Edwards rally in Raleigh that drew 25,000 people, including other notable state Democrats, but he did not speak. Easley was in town but had a prior-planned family reunion, according to news reports.
Bowles, who is in a tight race against Republican Rep. Richard Burr, has been too busy with his own campaign, said press secretary Carlos Monje.
"We've just been campaigning hard-core. That's why he's not up in Boston," Monje said. "It's going to be a tight race here; we've got to spend every minute talking to voters here."
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