Edwards Fails to Win Any Delegates in Nevada

John Edwards faced sharp questions on Saturday about the viability of his run for the White House after the near total collapse of his support in the Nevada caucuses.

After campaigning for nearly a year in the state, and making a concerted effort to win over organized labor, Edwards won just 4% of the popular vote. He won no delegates.

The poor showing comes as a blow to Edwards and his populist campaign. He had been counting on a strong finish - though not an outright win - in the heavily unionised state to rejuvenate his campaign after losses in Iowa and New Hampshire.

The twin defeats - although Edwards did narrowly hold a second-place finish in Iowa over Clinton - have forced him to become increasingly critical of his opponents. In New Hampshire, he accused Clinton of being an agent of the status quo. In Nevada, he attacked Obama for praising Ronald Reagan.

The defeat in Nevada undermines Edwards' argument that the Democratic contest remains a three-person race. That could have a knock-on effect in South Carolina, the other state where Edwards had been pinning his hopes of a comeback.

Edwards, a southerner, won the South Carolina primary in 2004, and had calculated a strong showing this time around would keep his candidacy alive through Super Tuesday. The state holds its Democratic primary next Saturday.

David Bonior, Edwards' campaign manager, insisted that the poor showing would not force him out of the race. "We have many states to go. This is only the third state and we have to remember that John Edwards did beat Hillary Clinton in Iowa," he told CNN.

Edwards left Nevada on the eve of the caucus to campaign in Oklahoma and Missouri. But he seemed to be anticipating defeat. Earlier this week, he accused the media of ignoring him, depriving him of the free publicity needed to keep his campaign afloat.

His campaign argues that while Edwards is often viewed as an afterthought by the media, he has continued to draw crowds and to pick up delegates.

That argument now rings hollow, however, with Edwards' failure to pick up any delegates in Nevada. He now lags further behind Clinton and Obama in the delegate race, making a comeback an even more distant prospect.