DES MOINES, Iowa, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- John Edwards' campaign says however he does in Iowa's Monday night caucuses, the race has already given him a big boost
The campaign said that last week online contributions were running at five times their previous level and the average individual contribution was up by 20 peercent.
The North Carolina senator has enjoyed favorable press nationwide from his upbeat campaigning in Iowa, eschewing the negative attack strategies of some of his rivals. And polls have shown him surging. One Des Moines Register poll puts him in second place behind Sen. John Kerry with 23 percent to Kerry's 26, three points ahead of former frontrunner Howard Dean with 20.
"Running in Iowa has been very rewarding," Edwards said. He said he was a "much better candidate and will be a much better president" because of it.
