Edwards to stay in race until convention, campaign says

NEW YORK — Presidential candidate John Edwards, who has yet to win any of the Democratic nominating contests, will stay in the race until the party convention, campaign advisors said Monday.

After placing second in Iowa on Jan. 3, Edwards has run behind Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama in subsequent states and trails his two rivals in delegates to the convention.

Edwards’ deputy campaign manager, Jonathan Prince, said the campaign soon would begin running ads in 10 of the more than 20 states voting Feb. 5 and would seek delegates until the convention begins Aug. 25 in Denver.

“There are numerous scenarios that lead to us being nominated,” Prince said Monday in a conference call with reporters. “This thing is going for a long time.”

Edwards has 26 delegates out of the 2,025 needed for the nomination. Obama, who won the South Carolina primary on Saturday, has 63 to Clinton’s 48.

Prince said it was “essentially impossible” for one person to get a majority of delegates with three candidates in the race. Edwards could have a deciding role if the nomination ends up being decided in a brokered convention.