In Ga., Edwards courts endorsements, second Southern win
ATLANTA -- North Carolina Senator John Edwards met with civil rights and state legislative leaders yesterday, seeking institutional support in perhaps the only state in which he may have a chance of outright victory during the upcoming "Super Tuesday" contests.
Edwards is relying primarily on media coverage to convey his message, and yesterday his campaign staged two potent scenes here: First, he shared the stage with aging veterans of the civil rights movement, some of them once colleagues of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Hours later, he marched down the marble staircase of the state capitol in Atlanta, flanked by two dozen local legislators.
Polls in virtually every other Super Tuesday state show Edwards trailing far behind Senator John F. Kerry. No recent reliable Georgia polls have been taken. The Peach State allows both Republicans and independents to vote, groups Edwards has drawn strong support from in previous open primaries. And it is firmly in the South, with demographics similar to South Carolina, the one state Edwards has won.
Former Georgia governor Roy Barnes, popular among local Democrats, is the figurehead of Edwards's campaign here. The silver-haired eminence of Georgia Democratic politics stood at Edwards's side as he spoke to about 100 local black leaders at a luncheon held by the Coalition for the People's Agenda.
Edwards was endorsed by 30 local officials, who walked beside him as he strode down the capitol's central staircase while cameras were rolling. But Kerry, too, has made inroads in wooing Georgia political leaders. Former US senator Max Cleland is one of his most visible spokesmen. Meanwhile, President Jimmy Carter has not endorsed anyone, and former Democratic senator Zell Miller is backing President Bush. Both Kerry and Edwards are vying for an endorsement from Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin.
After the state capitol event, Edwards was swamped by questions from reporters regarding his gay marriage position. He said he opposes gay marriage but would allow states to decide on their own. He also came out against Bush's proposed constitutional amendment limiting marriage to heterosexuals.
On Monday, Edwards stopped in two small Georgia cities, Columbus and Albany, emphasizing his skepticism of free-trade deals to packed rooms. Edwards spent yesterday evening in Houston, throwing a fund-raiser and giving a speech. Today, he shifts his focus to California, one of Super Tuesday's delegate-rich contests. He has spent little time there, however, and is relying on a scheduled debate in Los Angeles tomorrow to make an impact.
Raja Mishra can be reached at rmishra@globe.com. 