Posted on 02/27/2004 2:57:08 PM PST by JohnHuang2
ST. PAUL, Minn., Feb 27 (Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards took his campaign to Minnesota on Friday, where he picked up the support of activists who had once pledged allegiance to former front-runner Howard Dean.
Edwards, who has won only one of the 20 electoral contests thus far and trails in the polls to Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, pledged to continue his quest even if he does not win any of the 10 Super Tuesday contests next week.
The North Carolina senator said the decision by "Minnesota for Dean" supporters to back his campaign would help boost his chances in the state -- one of the four in which Edwards hopes for a strong showing on March 2.
"They've got the strongest organization on the ground in Minnesota," Edwards told reporters after speaking to a rally at Hamline University. "The governor worked very hard here to build a grass roots organization. It's a powerful presence here, I think it will make a difference."
Edwards said he has talked regularly to the former Vermont governor, who dropped out of Democratic race earlier this month after not winning any primaries, but said Dean had not yet decided if he would support any of the current candidates.
After extending a special welcome to Dean supporters at the rally, Edwards gave his regular stump speech to a cheering crowd -- promising change and vowing to create jobs and lift millions out of poverty.
The son of a mill worker who was the first in his family to go to college also outlined a plan to help middle class families get out of debt, save and invest. He criticized President George W. Bush for having "no idea" of how real Americans are suffering economically.
Edwards faces an uphill battle to beat Kerry for the chance to face Bush in a November general election. Kerry has won 18 of the 20 electoral contests held so far and has a strong lead in the overall delegate count.
The 10 states voting on Super Tuesday include big prizes like California, New York, Ohio and Georgia, with more than half of the 2,162 delegates needed to win the nomination at stake.
Edwards said his strategy was to keep winning "substantial amounts" of delegates, and said it wasn't vital to win a state on Tuesday.
"This is a long term process for us," he told reporters. "It's not a winner take all in these states, -- it's a matter of continuing to win delegates."
But he acknowledged "at some point the math tells us" that he has to start winning more delegates than Kerry.
When asked at what point he'll concede that mathematically it's impossible to win, Edwards said:
"I don't think it's Tuesday. I think it's a much longer process than that. We still have between 70-75 percent of the delegates left to choose."
(Editing by David Wiessler; Reuters Messaging: deborah.charles.reuters.com+reuters.net))
02/27/04 17:52 ET
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