PRESIDENTIAL RACE Edwards anticipates rally in the Valley next week

Trumbull was the only Ohio county Edwards won during the primary.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
WARREN -- For U.S. Sen. John Edwards, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, his Wednesday visit to Warren is almost like a homecoming.
"He's very excited to come," said Jennifer Palmieri, Ohio spokesman for the Kerry-Edwards campaign. "He's like, 'Let me at them. I want to be there.'"
Trumbull was the only county out of 88 in Ohio that went to Edwards during the March 2 Democratic primary. He received 45.1 percent of Trumbull's vote compared to 44.1 percent for U.S. Sen. John Kerry, the party's presidential nominee, who won the other 87 Ohio counties.
The logistics of the rally aren't finalized, but Edwards is expected to speak about 1 p.m. Wednesday. The campaign is looking at several locations including Courthouse Square, where Al Gore, the 2000 failed Democratic presidential candidate, attracted about 10,000 people in October of that year.
Warren Mayor Michael O'Brien also suggested the Warren Community Amphitheater if an outdoor setting is needed or the W.D. Packard Music Hall if the rally is to be held indoors.
His campaign
Edwards will speak about the problems facing people who have lost high-paying jobs during the Bush administration, and have to work at lower-paying jobs with fewer or no health benefits, Palmieri said.
This is Edwards' first time campaigning by himself as the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Palmieri said.
Also, the Democratic National Committee's "America Can Do Better" weeklong, 15-city bus tour will stop Thursday in Youngstown. Its final destination is New York City, where the Republican National Convention is being held.
The DNC didn't give details on the time or location of the Youngstown stop or who will be on the bus except to say participants will include national, state and local elected officials.
Several polls show the presidential race in Ohio, a key battleground state, is too close to call. Kerry, Edwards and their wives will visit Ohio nine times in the next 16 days, Palmieri said. Ohio has also been, and will be, a popular destination for President Bush.
Edwards will make three stops next week in Ohio. He will visit with AFL-CIO officials Tuesday in Columbus, attend an event Wednesday morning in East Cleveland and then hold the Warren rally later that day, Palmieri said.
Valley results
Though Edwards received only 34 percent of Ohio's vote during the March 2 primary, he fared well in the Mahoning Valley. Besides winning Trumbull, Edwards received 37.5 percent of the Mahoning County vote compared with 51.3 for Kerry; and got 42.4 percent of the Columbiana County vote compared with 47.4 percent for Kerry. Also, Edwards withdrew from the presidential race that day.
Edward's populist message of "Two Americas" played well to an enthusiastic crowd of about 600 people stuffed into a hot, small room that normally holds about 200 at the Teamsters Local 377 hall in Youngstown on Feb. 22.
"He's the most charismatic of the four," O'Brien said referring to Edwards, Kerry, Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. "He's energetic and his story [coming from a humble background] hits home in this area."
Previous visit
During his February visit to the Valley, which also included talking to locked-out workers at the RMI Titanium Co. plant in Weathersfield, Edwards talked about his support for fair, and not free, trade.
Edwards said at the time that if he was a senator when the North American Free Trade Agreement was considered, he wouldn't have supported it. He mentioned that Kerry voted for NAFTA, and the agreement damaged the national and Ohio economies. After the speech, Edwards told The Vindicator that the fundamental difference between him and Kerry was trade.
When Edwards quit the race, he threw his support behind Kerry.
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, said Edwards greatly impressed him during the Valley visit. Ryan was among 22 House Democrats to sign a letter to Kerry urging him to make Edwards his running mate, something the presidential nominee did shortly thereafter.
skolnick@vindy.com