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Edwards Selection as Kerry's Veep Plays Well in Valley
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Reaction to the selection of John Edwards as the Democratic Party's candidate for vice president is likely to be highly favorable in the Mahoning Valley -- where Edwards ran better than anywhere else in Ohio.Edwards narrowly carried Trumbull County in the March Democratic Primary, beating Kerry by one percentage point, and finished with 38% of the vote in Mahoning County compared to the 51% received by the man who will head the party's presidential ticket, John Kerry.Political observers considered his showing remarkable because his advertising expenditures fell far short of Kerry's, and he only made a few campaign stops in the Buckeye State.Kerry announced his selection of Edwards this morning in Pittsburgh at a rally in Market Square downtown. "I have chosen a man who understands and defends the values of America, a man who has shown courage and conviction as a champion for middle class Americans and those struggling to reach the middle class," Kerry said.At Kerry's side during the rally was his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, who continues to make her primary home the Heinz family farm in the Pittsburgh suburb of Fox Chapel, Pa. Tonight the Kerry and Edwards families will "break bread" at the 90-acre farm that sits on a hilltop, Kerry said. Tomorrow the Kerrys and Edwards will head out together on the campaign trail. The first public stop will be a 9 a.m. rally in downtown Cleveland. Then the candidates and their wives will travel to Dayton for an afternoon rally in a downtown park.U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland, D-6th Ohio, praised Kerry's selection of Edwards for giving "Americans a clear and contrasting choice for vice president this November." Strickland, who initially supported U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt in his party's presidential contest, said in a written statement that Edwards is a "candidate of hope and optimism [while] Dick Cheney is a candidate of cynicism and distrust."Just as we in Ohio have seen our steel and manufacturing industries devastated by unfair U.S. trade deals, John Edwards has witnessed the textile industry in his state struggle against a flood of imports and cheap foreign labor," the congressman continued. "He understands the difficulties that face industrial regions like ours, and will be a strong voice in the White House for fair, balanced trade that respects labor and environmental laws in all nations and once again puts American workers on an equal footing with our trading allies."During the March primary, Edwards electrified a packed room at Teamsters Hall in Youngstown, articulating his message of "two Americas." Jim Hoffa, Teamsters general president, said that message will play well in November in the battleground states across the Midwest."John Edwards will build on his 'Two Americas' message from the Democratic Primary, which resonated so well among independent-minded voters in industrial states, who are so often referred to as swing voters," Hoffa said. "Our nation is experiencing crisis after crisis in both domestic and foreign affairs. The leadership and experience of a Kerry-Edwards administration offers our best hope -- in fact our only hope -- of renewing the United States' prestige, as well as its commitment to the pro-worker, pro-family ideals that made our country great,"Edwards and Kerry are expected make return visits to the Mahoning Valley at least once before the votes are counted Nov. 2. Edwards begins his campaign for vice president with a solidly favorable balance of public opinion behind him, according to the University of Pennsylvania's National Annenberg Election Survey released shortly after his selection became public. Thirty-one percent of the public, interviewed from last Thursday through last night, said they had a favorable opinion of him, while 17% were unfavorable, the survey found. Another 29% said their view of him was neutral, and 22% said they did not know how to rate him. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus three percentage points. Although some Democrats who urged the selection of Edwards said he would help the party in the South, the Annenberg data showed no significant advantage for the North Carolina senator there, compared to other regions. Thirty-three percent of Southerners viewed him favorably, while 18% viewed him unfavorably, according to the poll. "