By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer

Posted Jan. 30, 2008 – The departure of former North Carolina Senator John Edwards from the race for the White House puts a handful of Black lawmakers up for grabs, and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) could be the beneficiary.

Because Edwards announced his run for White House in 2006, earlier than his two top rivals – Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Obama – he secured several Black lawmakers, including two fellow Carolinians, Rep. C. K.  Butterfield, and Rep. Mel Watt. 

  But they weren’t alone in backing Edwards. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) and the late Rep. Julia Carson (D-Ind.) who died earlier this year, also thought Edwards was a good choice.

Then Obama entered the race.  The loyalty issue weighed heavy on some of the members I spoke with after it was clear they would have to choose between Clinton, a longtime friend of the Congressional Black Caucus, and Obama, one of their own members. But now that Edwards has bowed out of the race, we can watch the two frontrunners morph their message to lure some of Edwards’ supporters to their camp. It will be interesting to see where Edwards folks decide to go.  Edwards sent a message to his former rivals, saying what he wanted in return for his support during his speech.

  “They have both pledged to make ending poverty part of their campaigns,” Edwards said. In recent weeks, following Edwards lackluster showings in early primary states,  Butterfield decided to switch his endorsement to Obama, Rep. Albert Wynn (D-Md.), who had backed Edwards run in 2004, also signed on leaving only a small pool of members of the Congressional Black Caucus undecided or uncommitted.

Two folks plan to remain neutral through the primary process, Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-Mich.) and House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), because of their leadership positions. The undecided are:  Johnson, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and Watt.

 Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) who spoke of supporting Clinton in September during their caucus’s legislative weekend, made it official Tuesday with a public announcement in Los Angeles. 

 New Jersey  Rep. Donald Payne’s staff confirmed he’s also signed on to support the New York senator. With the recent additions of Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.), Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) and Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss) to Obama’s camp, he now has 19 to Clinton’s 17 committed Black lawmakers, thanks to the switch of the two Edwards supporters.