Edwards Hopes Southern Roots Help Court S.C. Voters

"Is South Carolina pivotal? Yes," said Edwards, who announcedThursday he will seek the Democratic presidential nomination in2004.

Edwards has a certain advantage over other candidates as a SouthCarolina native. He was born of textile-working parents in Seneca.He and his family moved to Robbins, N.C., when Edwards was 12.

Edwards told The (Columbia) State he knows most voters don'tknow who he is, but his Southern background should help him inunderstanding South Carolina voters.

"When you grow up in small communities in the South, you'regrounded," he said. "You have common sense. You tend to look atthings in practical terms.

"The people I grew up with are just good people with just goodold horse sense, and I believe that's what they want in theirleaders."

But State Sen. Tom Moore, D-Aiken and a member of the DemocraticNational Committee, cautioned that being Southern doesn'tnecessarily mean momentum.

"There's no question that in the nominating process, SouthCarolina is the great crossroads that makes or breaks some folks,"Moore said. "It certainly would raise some eyebrows in otherstates if Edwards didn't have a victory here."

U.S. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Vermont Gov. HowardDean also have announced their bid for the Democratic nominationfor president.

"By the end of this process before anyone votes, they are goingto know all of us very well," Edwards said.

The Feb. 3 primary follows the caucuses in Iowa and the NewHampshire primary in January. The winner in South Carolina willleave with significant momentum going into the following weeks'big-state primaries.

The winner in South Carolina also shows his strength in theSouth, whose rejection of Al Gore in 2000 cost him the election.

"You've got to show you can win in the South," said stateparty Chairman Dick Harpootlian. "A victory here would giveEdwards instant credibility."

State Sen. Darrell Jackson, D-Hopkins, said if Edwards does notdo well here, "this could be his graveyard."

Edwards said the most important thing for him right now is to"get my vision and my specific issues in front of the voters sothey can judge them."