This is just breaking this morning, but it appears that John Edwards will drop out of the Presidential race today:
DENVER (AP) - Democrat John Edwards is exiting the presidential race Wednesday, ending a scrappy underdog bid in which he steered his rivals toward progressive ideals while grappling with family hardship that roused voter’s sympathies but never diverted his campaign, The Associated Press has learned.
The two-time White House candidate notified a close circle of senior advisers that he planned to make the announcement at a 1 p.m. EST event in New Orleans that had been billed as a speech on poverty, according to two of his advisers. The decision came after Edwards lost the four states to hold nominating contests so far to rivals who stole the spotlight from the beginning—Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.
No word, yet, on whether he will make an endorsement today or not but, even if he doesn’t one has to think that this helps Obama more than it helps Clinton.
Update: Further details from CNN:
(CNN) — Former Sen. John Edwards is dropping out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, CNN has learned.
Edwards has told top advisers about his decision. It is expected he will announce it at a speech in New Orleans, Louisiana, at 1 p.m. Wednesday.
New Orleans is the same city in which he declared his run to be the 2008 Democratic presidential nominee.
Edwards’ campaign Web site said he was to deliver an address on poverty and work on a Habitat for Humanity project in New Orleans on Wednesday.
Edwards has trailed former first lady Hillary Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in the early primaries, including a third-place finish in Tuesday’s Florida primary, with 14 percent of the votes. He also came in third in key races in New Hampshire and South Carolina.
An Edwards aide said that he does not plan to endorse either Clinton or Obama, at this time, but he may do so in the future.
More to come, I’m sure.
