Edwards Endorsed by Iowa’s First Lady
Her support may not be as coveted as the Des Moines Register, but Mari Culver, the wife of Iowa Gov. Chet Culver, publicly endorsed John Edwards today. Edwards is close with the Culvers, and as NBC’s Tricia Miller points out, even their campaigns are intertwined. This summer, Jennifer O’Malley, the Iowa director for the Edwards campaign, married Patrick Dillon, Gov. Culver’s chief of staff. The governor is not endorsing anyone in the Iowa caucuses, and Mari Culver said her endorsement does not speak for her husband.
At a raucous campaign rally attended by about 350 Edwards supporters, most of them union workers, Culver said she believes that Edwards is both the most qualified and the most electable candidate. She said:
I believe John Edwards can win. Not just the caucuses, but the general election, too. He’s ready. He’s been battle-tested. He’s been through this before, having been on a national ticket. I think these experiences give him a real advantage.
That sounds a lot like the pitch that Hillary Clinton’s supporters make for her. Will Culver’s endorsement turn women voters away from Clinton and toward Edwards?
