Pamela Gentry,  Senior Political Producer

Posted May 14, 2008 – It looks like the former North Carolina senator John Edwards has made his presidential pick – and he’s decided it’s Sen. Barack Obama. 

This endorsement is significant because Edwards will release 19 pledged delegates who could decide to follow the former presidential candidate’s lead.  Edwards is seen as a strong advocate for the poor and working class.  His endorsement could be the help Obama’s needs to increase his appeal and help him woo those voters. 

Obama and Edwards are expected to appear this evening during a campaign event in Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

Just a reminder, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich) told me Edwards would endorse the Illionis senator, he just didn’t know when.   

 Do you think Obama will select Edwards as his VP?

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer

Posted May 14, 2008 –Sen. Hillary Clinton won a clear victory in West Virginia Tuesday, and she used the opportunity to tell supporters she has no plans of leaving the race. 

Speaking to a cheering crowd in Charleston, W.V., Clinton said, “This race isn’t over yet. Neither of us has the total delegates it takes to win and both Sen. Obama, and I believe that the delegates from Florida and Michigan should be seated.”

She floated several familiar themes about her appeal in swing states; her ability to beat Sen. John McCain; and she sent out more pleas for campaign contributions.  But she also added a few messages tailor-made for rural, White, working-class voters, like those gathered at the Charleston Civic Center for her speech.

“All of the hard-working men and women who defy the odds to build a better life for themselves and their children, you will never be counted out, and I won’t either. You will never quit, and I won’t, either,” Clinton pledged.

Stressing her image as a “fighter,” Clinton sent a message to those uncommitted super-delegates to give her the edge she needs to land the Democratic nomination. “An enormous decision falls on the shoulders of Democratic voters in these final contests and those Democrats empowered to vote at our convention,” she said

That’s a long shot but Clinton’s 67 percent to 26 percent for Obama was a clear victory and she interrupts it as moving momentum her way.  (Sen. John Edwards, who dropped out of the race in January, was still on the ballot and netted about 7 percent.) But with only 28 delegates at stake in West Virginia, the win isn’t enough for Clinton to chip away at Obama’s significant lead in pledged delegates, super delegates or the popular vote. 

Clinton vowed to stay in the race until the final contest June 3 in South Dakota, which will surely increase her campaign debt, estimated at $20 million.  Following her victory Tuesday night, the campaign sent text messages to supporters’ cell phones asking them to visit the Web site and donate.  Having already loaned her campaign $11 million, she’s banking on an surge of cash.

There is no doubt Clinton tried to make her case for being the nominee, but she also gave the first signs that she might be a team player if she doesn’t win.   “Our nominee will be stronger for having campaigned long and hard, building enthusiasm and excitement,” she said.

“And I will work my heart out for the nominee of the Democratic Party, to make sure we have a Democratic president,” she declared.