Edwards names Upstate chairmen, opens office

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City Councilwoman Chandra Dillard and County Councilman Cort Flint will co-chair Edwards' campaign in Greenville County, the state's most populous. Both had endorsed him previously. Flint described Edwards as "the candidate the country needs at this time."

The Spartanburg co-chairmen will be state Senator Glenn Reese and City Councilwoman Linda Dogan.

Edwards, a North Carolina senator and a Pickens native, is one of nine Democrats seeking their party's nomination. South Carolina's first-in-the-South primary on Feb. 3 will go a long way toward determining the ultimate winner.

Edwards has lagged in the polls in Iowa and New Hampshire, the opening contests, but recent polls have shown him leading or gaining in South Carolina, including one by his campaign pollster showing him ahead at 22 percent. Analysts have made South Carolina a must-win state for Edwards if he's to remain competitive in the round of primaries that quickly follow.

A late October poll for Edwards by Global Strategy Group placed him at 10 points above Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut. But another late October poll by New Hampshire-based American Research Group had retired Gen. Wesley Clark with a 17-10 lead over Edwards and a late September poll by Zogby International placed Edwards in the lead at 10-9 over former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean.

The campaign's Greenville office will be located at 1301 Laurens Rd., Suite D.

Edwards previously opened a state headquarters in Columbia and a Lowcountry office in North Charleston. Both are in areas where Democrats are stronger and more numerous than in the Upstate.

The campaign will host a public open house at the Greenville office Tuesday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

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Dan Hoover covers politics and can be reached at 298-4883.