Return to homepage

Edwards says Southern victory possible if he is nominee

Jun 9, 2007 7:02 AM

Associated Press
Jun 9, 2007

ROCHESTER – Presidential hopeful John Edwards said yesterday he will win much of the South and help the Democratic Party win more U.S. House and Senate seats in the Midwest as well if he is the 2008 nominee.

"You should think not only about who would be a presidential candidate, but who would also strengthen our ability to help us win congressional seats in some of the tough places in this country," Edwards said at a campaign stop in New Hampshire. "If we pick up 15, 20 seats in the House, some additional seats in the Senate because we have a presidential candidate who is appealing in a lot of parts of America, then all of the sudden we have the (power) to really move this agenda."

Edwards said he could upset any of the leading Republican candidates -- former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Arizona Sen. John McCain -- in the South.

"If I'm the nominee against any of those guys, I think there's a terrific chance we're going to take a bunch of Southern states," said Edwards, of North Carolina. "You know how this works. If the top of the ticket is strong, everything below it does better. These races in the South and Midwest are very close."

He also said he looks forward to debating the eventual Republican nominee.

"The first thing I would say would be ... If you like what's happened in Iraq, you should vote for this guy. They'll give you four more years of it," Edwards said. "If you don't like what's happened in Iraq, if you want to see a change, then you should vote for me."

He said Republicans have lost the monopoly on national security.

"Do you think George Bush made you safer? All this chest thumping?" Edwards said. "These guys are going to continue this. We need to be aggressive, but we also need to be smart. We need to not just thump our chest."

Edwards also repeated his call for the Justice Department to investigate energy companies' role in high gas prices. He said record profits for oil and gas companies are suspect at best, and criminal at worst.

"The same people doing the refining are the same people running the pump," he said.

Edwards, on a two-day campaign trip through the early primary state, said that monopoly is unacceptable and should not be rewarded.

"We finally need to stop spending $3 billion of your money to subsidize these big oil and gas companies," he said.

 

Ways To Get Involved:

1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 

Upcoming New Hampshire Events

Recent New Hampshire Photos

Recent New Hampshire Videos

Q&A: Educational Disparity
John Edwards answers a question about educational disparity at Hanover Middle School in Hanover, N.H. on September 27, 2007

Search