MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: If New Hampshire is carrying Dean's backyard -- and politically it is -- South Carolina should be in John Edwards' hip pocket. The North Carolina senator and South Carolina native is counting on a win in Dixie. And CNN's Frank Buckley is there.</s>FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John Edwards came here to South Carolina for his first campaign appearance after New Hampshire. The setting: South Carolina State University, a predominantly African-American university, underscoring the importance of the black vote in South Carolina. This is the first test of the Democratic candidates among a significant group of African-American voters. Nearly half of the primary voters may be black on Primary Day here in South Carolina. Also visiting South Carolina later today will be Senator John Kerry, the front-runner. Kerry has said that a Democrat can win a general election without winning any southern state. I asked Senator Edwards if he agreed.</s>SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think if the Democrats and the Democratic voters want to put their chances on -- for the first time in American history -- a Democrat getting elected without winning any southern states, they can make that choice. It's a very risky choice.</s>BUCKLEY: Senator Edwards is also visiting Oklahoma today, considered the No. 2 priority of his campaign. No. 1 remains South Carolina, however. Edwards saying he has to win in the state in which he was born if he is to continue his campaign. Frank Buckley, CNN, Orangeburg, South Carolina.
Nothing Could be Finer Than a Win in Carolina