RALEIGH, N.C., May 3 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton is lavishing praise on John Edwards even if her former presidential campaign rival hasn't thrown his support behind her.
The New York senator said at a North Carolina dinner this week that Edwards, a former North Carolina senator who dropped out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination was a "great fighter" in the political arena in the fight against poverty and to improve healthcare, CNN reported Saturday.
"Let me say what a great fighter North Carolina and working Americans everywhere have in John Edwards. John ran with compassion and conviction and his courageous fight to end poverty is a fight I will see to the finish," Clinton said Friday.
Clinton's ringing endorsement of Edwards came just days before the state's primary and amid rampant rumors about who Clinton is considering as a possible running mate.
CNN reported that Edwards' wife, Elizabeth, said she would be "surprised" if her husband publicly supported either Clinton or U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., before North Carolina's primary.
