Edwards out of presidential race
- 00:01:31
- ITN
Edwards out of presidential race
Democrat John Edwards has pulled out of the race for the White House.The Former North Carolina Senator has not won any contests in the race for the Democratic nomination for the November election and has lagged behind front-runners Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in public opinion polls."It's time for me to step aside so that history can blaze its path," the 54-year-old told supporters in New Orleans.Mr Edwards did not endorse either of his rivals.Republican candidate Rudy Giuliani is also expected to announce his withdrawal from the race after a poor showing in the Florida primary which saw John McCain beat his main rival Mitt Romney.The win ahead of next week's Super Tuesday, when more than 20 states go to the polls, gives the Arizona senator and former Vietnam prisoner of war a significant boost, both financially and politically,With 98 per cent of the results in, Mr McCain won 36 per cent of the votes, while Mr Romney won 31 per cent, followed by former New York Mayor Mr Giuliani with 15 per cent and ex-Baptist preacher Mike Huckabee with 14 per cent in fourth place.Mr Romney, the multimillionaire former Massachusetts governor, and Mr McCain had dominated the headlines in Florida with a heated battle over who was best prepared to rescue a struggling economy and lead a country at war in Iraq and Afghanistan.However, Mr McCain, 71, who would be the oldest first-term president if elected, told supporters it was not a landslide victory and not big enough to "brag" about, but was "sweet nonetheless".He said: "Tonight my friends we celebrate. But tomorrow it's back to work. We have a way to go, but we're getting close."According to reports, Mr Giuliani plans to drop out and endorse Mr McCain, a friend and political ally before the presidential race began.© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.
ITN | January 30, 2008
