Kerry goes for southern charm
Democratic candidate John Kerry has chosen southern Senator John Edwards as his running mate in November’s US presidential election.
The North Carolina senator, a former rival for the presidential nomination, held secret talks with Kerry last week.
Kerry offered Edwards the number two spot in a phone call this morning, and he accepted, said two senior Democrats .
Kerry planned to announce his pick by e-mail to supporters, then at the Pittsburgh rally.
Kerry picked the smooth-talking populist over more seasoned politicians in hopes of injecting vigour and small-town appeal to the presidential ticket.
Until the last minute Kerry advisers said their boss had recently signalled his interest in other candidates, including Dick Gephardt, Tom Vilsack and Bob Graham.
One New York newspaper, under an exclusive banner, reported today that Kerry had chosen Gephardt.
Hedging their bets, campaign aides had printed dozens of placards for a Kerry rally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this morning: Kerry-Edwards, read some while others said Kerry-Vilsack or Kerry-Gephardt.
Kerry’s campaign plane, parked at the Pittsburgh airport, was partially obscured by brown paper – hiding the name of his new running mate.
Kerry and his top advisers have shared virtually no details of their deliberations, but that hasn’t stopped speculation about a long line of Democrats.
The running mates will travel to battleground states this week, aides said. The pair will be formally nominated at the Democratic National Convention, which begins in Boston on July 26.
