Edwards will visit Cape on Wednesday

Vice-presidential nominee John Edwards will make a stop in Cape Girardeau this week as part of the Democratic presidential campaign's "Believe in America" tour, a local campaign organizer said Saturday.

Edwards will appear at a rally at 9 p.m. Wednesday in Cape Girardeau, said Cris Edwards of Jackson. She is the local organizer for the Democratic Party's presidential ticket of John Kerry and John Edwards. The location of the rally had not been determined Saturday, Cris Edwards said.

Both presidential candidate John Kerry and John Edwards are scheduled to be at Union Station in St. Louis for a rally at noon on Thursday.

The 51-year-old John Edwards was a North Carolina lawyer before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 1998. He was a strong candidate in the presidential primaries and was chosen by Kerry in July as his running mate.

John Edwards grew up in Robbins, N.C., which has a population of 1,195 according to the 2000 census. He has been touted as a key to winning votes in America's small towns.

The Kerry-Edwards campaign has reduced its advertising in Missouri since polls have shown the Democratic candidates trailing the Bush-Cheney ticket by 4 percent to 6 percent.

Rodney Miller of Jackson, a member of the local Democratic Party and county clerk, said the vice-presidential nominee's visit shows hope truly is on the way for the party in Missouri.

"He's a good speaker and a good candidate," Miller said. "I think his coming to Cape means they're working hard and going everywhere to get support."

During his own campaign in the presidential primaries early this year, John Edwards made stops in Springfield, Mo., and St. Louis.

News editor Tony Hall contributed to this report.