John Edwards
United States Senator from North Carolina
In office January 6, 1999 – January 3, 2005
Preceded by	Lauch Faircloth
Succeeded by	Richard Burr
Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States
Election date November 2, 2004
Running mate	John Kerry
Opponent(s)	Dick Cheney (R).
Incumbent	Dick Cheney (R)
Born	June 10, 1953 (1953-06-10) (age 54) Seneca, South Carolina
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Elizabeth Edwards
Alma mater	North Carolina State University University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Profession	Attorney, Politician
Religion	United Methodist
Signature

Johnny Reid "John" Edwards^[1] (born June 10, 1953) is an American politician who served one term as U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination through the January primaries, until dropping out, and later endorsing Senator Barack Obama.

He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in North Carolina's 1998 Senate election and toward the end of his six-year term sought the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2004 presidential election.

He eventually became the 2004 Democratic candidate for Vice President, the running mate of presidential nominee Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. After Edwards and Kerry lost the election to incumbents George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, Edwards began working full time at the One America Committee, a political action committee he established in 2001, and was appointed director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law. He was also a consultant for Fortress Investment Group LLC.