Edwards rallies Minnesota supporters at St. Paul union hall

[sniffa]

Democrat John Edwards fired up hundreds of union members at a crowded carpenters hall Tuesday evening.

The former North Carolina senator spoke for about 20 minutes, reminding the crowd of his roots as the son of a textile mill worker and promising to take tax benefits away from the rich to help working people.

Campaign organizers said more than 1,200 people attended the event. Some couldn't squeeze into the hall and watched the speech on monitors outside.

Edwards has yet to win a primary or caucus and has been trailing Democratic rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama in the early voting states.

He is banking on support from union members to help him in Minnesota's precinct caucuses next Tuesday.

http://wkbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=7793768