John Reid Edwards is considered
by many to be a strong potential
candidate for president in 2008
. Edwards, who was the Democratic
nominee for vice president in 2004, was
a successful plaintiff’s attorney before
entering politics in 1998 when he was
elected to the Senate from North
Carolina.
In 2001 Edwards formed the One America Committee, a Democratic political action leadership committee, which rose to prominence during and after the 2004 election. After the election, which the Kerry/Edwards ticket lost to Bush/Cheney, Edwards was appointed the director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina, which conducts studies on ways to move people out of poverty. He is a co-chair of a Council on Foreign Relations task force on United States-Russia relations, alongside Republican Jack Kemp. He is also a consultant to an investment bank in New York City.
Edwards was born on June 10, 1953, to Wallace R. Edwards and Kathryn Juanita Wade in Seneca, South Carolina. The family moved several times during Edwards’ childhood, eventually settling in Robbins, North Carolina, where his father worked in a textile mill and his mother was a postal employee. Edwards was the first person in his family to attend college. He first attended Clemson University and later transferred to North Carolina State University.
Edwards graduated with a bachelor’s degree in textile technology in 1974, and later earned his law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, both with honors. While at UNC, he met fellow law student Elizabeth Anania. They married in 1977 and have four children. Their first two, Wade and Cate, were born soon after John and Elizabeth’s marriage. In 1996, 16-year-old Wade was killed in a car accident; in remembrance of his son, Edwards donated a large computer lab to his son’s school, Broughton High School in Raleigh, NC, which provides technology access to Broughton students. He also wears Wade’s Outward Bound pin on his suit jacket. Following Wade’s death, Edwards and his wife chose to have children again: Emma Claire, born in 1998, and Jack, born in 2000. The Edwards family now lives in rural Orange County, outside of Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Edwards’ ancestors on both sides were early settlers in America. It is believed that William Edwards, who settled in Jamestown, Virginia, and brothers John Thomas and Robert all came to America together around 1630, from Edwards Hall, near Cardiff, Glamorganshire, Wales. An ancestor of William’s, Judge Thomas Edwards (1741-1832) married Mary McClanahan, Westmoreland County, Virginia. Mary’s family originally hailed from the Strabane area of County Derry.
In 2001 Edwards formed the One America Committee, a Democratic political action leadership committee, which rose to prominence during and after the 2004 election. After the election, which the Kerry/Edwards ticket lost to Bush/Cheney, Edwards was appointed the director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina, which conducts studies on ways to move people out of poverty. He is a co-chair of a Council on Foreign Relations task force on United States-Russia relations, alongside Republican Jack Kemp. He is also a consultant to an investment bank in New York City.
Edwards was born on June 10, 1953, to Wallace R. Edwards and Kathryn Juanita Wade in Seneca, South Carolina. The family moved several times during Edwards’ childhood, eventually settling in Robbins, North Carolina, where his father worked in a textile mill and his mother was a postal employee. Edwards was the first person in his family to attend college. He first attended Clemson University and later transferred to North Carolina State University.
Edwards graduated with a bachelor’s degree in textile technology in 1974, and later earned his law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, both with honors. While at UNC, he met fellow law student Elizabeth Anania. They married in 1977 and have four children. Their first two, Wade and Cate, were born soon after John and Elizabeth’s marriage. In 1996, 16-year-old Wade was killed in a car accident; in remembrance of his son, Edwards donated a large computer lab to his son’s school, Broughton High School in Raleigh, NC, which provides technology access to Broughton students. He also wears Wade’s Outward Bound pin on his suit jacket. Following Wade’s death, Edwards and his wife chose to have children again: Emma Claire, born in 1998, and Jack, born in 2000. The Edwards family now lives in rural Orange County, outside of Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Edwards’ ancestors on both sides were early settlers in America. It is believed that William Edwards, who settled in Jamestown, Virginia, and brothers John Thomas and Robert all came to America together around 1630, from Edwards Hall, near Cardiff, Glamorganshire, Wales. An ancestor of William’s, Judge Thomas Edwards (1741-1832) married Mary McClanahan, Westmoreland County, Virginia. Mary’s family originally hailed from the Strabane area of County Derry.