RALEIGH — John Edwards has reportedly made it official in a letter to the head of the North Carolina Democratic Party: he’s bowing out of the 2004 Senate race in North Carolina in favor of a full-steam-ahead bid to lead (or be on, one might guess) the national Democratic ticket.
It was the right decision for the state and for the Democratic Party, albeit a somewhat tardy one. U.S. Rep. Richard Burr of Winston-Salem has already been running hard for months for the Edwards seat, which has had a history of turning over from one party to the other since Sam Ervin vacated it. To delay further Edwards’ announcement of intentions (some had said he might wait until the early presidential primaries in February) would have dangerously left the political field to Burr for additional weeks or months, an opportunity that the wily and popular Republican aspirant would surely have seized.
But it was not to be. Edwards has apparently decided either that things are going better for his presidential campaign than the political wags are saying or that burning his political bridges behind him will actually strengthen his pitch and demonstrate his resolve, perhaps to wavering donors and supporters.
A third option is that, win or lose in the national race, Edwards just doesn’t want to be a senator any more. Actually, judging by his itenerary, he hasn’t wanted to be North Carolina’s senator for months now.
Upon confirming the Edwards announcement, reporters immediately pressed Erskine Bowles, the 2002 nominee, and former NC House Speaker Dan Blue, the major challenger to Bowles last year, to declare their intentions. That’s understandable, as both men seem likely to contend the nomination. Bowles will have the advantage, and the disadvantage, of having already been on the ballot as a Senate nominee. Blue may be able to tap into some of the disaffection many Democrats apparently feel about the direction of their party, the kind of sentiment that is fueling a very different, but also anti-establishment, candidate, Howard Dean.
But my suspicion is that Bowles and Blue won’t be alone.
North Carolina has seen the beginning of a spirited, six-person contest for the Republican nomination for governor. Its senior senator, Edwards, is making the most serious run for the White House that a North Carolinian running from North Carolina has ever made. (Yes, we’ve elected three North Carolinians to the presidency in the country’s history, but all moved to Tennessee first.) Now, it seems that we might have another major political contest to follow here in the Tar Heel State. Political junkies around North Carolina are salivating. Political consultants around North Carolina are slobbering.
Who are some of the other candidates who might dip their toes in the water? State Treasurer Richard Moore is already rumored to be looking at the race. U.S. Rep Bob Etheridge of the 2nd Congressional District, a former state superintendent of public instruction and legislative leader, is also said to have eyed the race a while back. Because open seats for the U.S. Senate don’t come around often, I’d expect other Democrats to flirt with the idea, too. Attorney General Roy Cooper and Lieutenant Gov. Beverly Perdue probably set their eyes on the 2008 governor’s race a while ago, but that’s a long way off. This race starts now. Just about any Democrat with credible electoral experience — from members of Congress to legislative leaders to current or former big-city mayors — could conceivably catch fire.
Bowles and Blue may be ready to go, but there’s no post-season playoffs in politics. You don’t have to win your division to play in the finals. They can’t expect to have the field all to themselves — and they probably don’t.
Hood is president of the John Locke Foundation and publisher of Carolina Journal.