Edwards courts Dean's supporters
ST. PAUL -- Presidential candidate John Edwards came here yesterday seeking to co-opt the local political machine of Howard Dean, winning an endorsement from the former Vermont governor's well-organized Minnesota staff.
At a meeting two days ago, Dean's local staff in St. Paul voted 2 to 1 in support of Edwards over Democratic front-runner Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, with members agreeing to stage a massive get-out-the-vote effort this weekend using Dean's database containing names of tens of thousands of Minnesota voters. But Dean himself has not endorsed Edwards, and with his once-mighty organization now deflated and somewhat in disarray, it is unclear what advantage the endorsement gives Edwards in his electoral battle.
The North Carolina senator trails Kerry badly in most of the 10 states voting Tuesday, including the top prizes of New York and California, numerous polls indicate. But Edwards has pulled to within a single-digit margin in recent polls in Maryland and Ohio. Ohio, Georgia, and Minnesota all allow Republican and independents to cast votes in the Democratic primary, and Edwards sees them as his best chances for an outright win.
Yesterday, Edwards said he would push on even if he does not win a single state on Super Tuesday.
"Our goal is to continue to win delegates," he said in an interview, adding that he thought Super Tuesday would not be decisive. "I think it's a much longer process than that."
In Los Angeles on Thursday, Edwards performed ably at a chatty debate moderated by CNN talk-show host Larry King. But no knockout lines or memorable sound bites resulted. Another debate is scheduled for tomorrow at 11 a.m. in New York City. Edwards said the debates serve a purpose: "People see that it's a two-person race and that there's a clear choice. I think these debates, every time we've had one, [it] has helped me and my campaign."
As the debate unfolded on the sunny West Coast, about 100 Dean supporters met in snow-covered St.Paul to pick their new candidate. Over the past week, Edwards has included a lavish tribute to Dean in his stump speech. The two have spoken on the phone several times, with the discussions casual and upbeat, aides to both men said. Dean's aides have said he probably will not give Edwards his formal endorsement; Dean has encouraged his many followers to continue to seek to influence the ongoing nomination process.
"We think [Edwards's] message and spirit is more similar to Governor Dean's. Governor Dean always talked about uniting the country, and so does Senator Edwards," said Eileen Weber, 47, of Cottage Grove, co-coordinator of Dean's organizers in St. Paul.
Minnesota was once a Dean hotbed. Only California held more Dean meetups, the Internet-driven organizational meetings that helped fuel Dean's campaign. Weber said that, during the meeting, considerable hostility toward Kerry was expressed.
"We remember how he ran against Governor Dean in Iowa," she said, explaining that many at the meeting thought Kerry unfairly attacked Dean during the run-up to the Iowa caucuses, which initiated Dean's electoral downfall.
Yesterday, speaking to about 600 people at Hamline University in St. Paul, Edwards began, "Welcome and thank you to all the supporters of Governor Dean that are here today." He said Dean has "been a powerful voice through the course of this presidential campaign. That change has to come from here, out here, on the ground, in the real world, not inside Washington."
Dean signs, stickers, and shirts were ubiquitous.
Edwards is "a better speaker than I thought he would be," said Ken Taguchi, 56, of Minneapolis. "He has a likability that [John F.] Kennedy and Clinton had, and that Gore was lacking."
Kate Knapp, too, was impressed. "I wanted to see if he had that charisma everyone talks about," she said. "He does, he sure does."
But when asked whom she will vote for Tuesday, Knapp replied with a smirk, "Someone named John."
Raja Mishra can be reached at rmishra@globe.com. 
