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CHARLESTON - Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama picked up a major endorsement on Thursday with the party's 2004 nominee John Kerry announcing he would back his United States presidential bid.
Kerry's endorsement was a snub to former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, his vice presidential running mate in 2004 who is also running for president but is a distant third in national polls to New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and Obama.
Kerry offered Obama, who would be the first black US president, his support to be the Democratic nominee in the November election at a rally with the first-term senator from Illinois.
"I have the confidence that Barack Obama can be, will be and should be the next president of the United States," Kerry told thousands of cheering, sign-waving Obama supporters at the College of Charleston.
"Barack Obama has the greatest potential to lead a transformation, not just a transition," he said.
Edwards, who became Kerry's running mate four years ago after failing to win the nomination on his own, said he respected the decision.
"When we were running against each other and on the same ticket, John and I agreed on many issues," Edwards said in a statement. "I continue to believe that this election is about the future, not the past, and that the country needs a president who will fight aggressively to end the status quo."
The state-by-state process to pick candidates for the November election to succeed President George W Bush has moved out of the snowy backdrops of New Hampshire and Iowa and on to states across the country.
The Democratic candidates are focusing mainly on the Western state of Nevada and in the South in South Carolina to drum up votes and money ahead of February 5 when 22 states hold nominating contests.
Before a Thursday night debate in the South Carolina beach resort city of Myrtle Beach in the evening, some Republican candidates campaigned a bit and worked to raise money in the state where Republicans vote on January 19 - a week before the state's Democratic vote.
Obama, who scored a surprise victory in the Iowa caucuses last week, is hoping the South Carolina contest on January 26 will help him regain front-runner status after a narrow loss to Clinton in New Hampshire on Tuesday.
The endorsement by Kerry, who lost the 2004 election to Bush, could boost Obama's presidential bid by attracting more support from the Democratic establishment, which has largely supported Clinton, the former first lady.
Another Democratic candidate, New Mexico Gov Bill Richardson, was expected to announce later on Thursday that he will be dropping out of the race for the White House after a poor showing in early contests, US media reported.
Richardson, who hoped to become the first Hispanic US president, won just 5 per cent of the Democratic vote in the New Hampshire primary, finishing fourth behind Clinton, Obama and Edwards.
With another contest looming on the Republican side on January 15 in the economically battered state of Michigan, Republican candidates were trying to win over conservatives by playing up plans to push for extending Bush's tax cuts beyond their 2010 expiration.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has unveiled a new plan that would preserve Bush's tax cuts but also allow taxpayers to opt for a simpler tax code with three brackets.
Republican John McCain, who voted against Bush's tax cuts in 2001, said in Michigan this week that he now supports making them permanent because of economic tough times.
The 71-year-old senator from Arizona, who became a serious contender for the nomination after a solid win in New Hampshire, had a full day of campaign events before the debate at 9 pm EST (NZT 3.00pm).
- REUTERS
