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"Love for Elizabeth had a lot to do with it," said Saunders, who noted he was speaking for himself and not the campaign. "I think he wanted to be with his family."

As late as 11 am. on Tuesday, the Edwards campaign sent out an e-mail message to its finance team setting up a conference call for Wednesday. But later Tuesday, Edwards called Obama and Clinton suggesting that he was about to leave the race.

Some Edwards supporters privately had worried that a marathon insurgent campaign for delegates would marginalize him as a spokesman for issues in which he believes -- turning him into a figure of ridicule like former California Gov. Jerry Brown.

Edwards also had to realize that his delegate-hunt strategy would become more difficult, as voters increasingly saw the Democratic campaign as a two-person race.

"Ultimately, I think that is why Edwards got out," said Peter Francia, a political science professor at East Carolina University. "It makes little sense to stay in a race when you can't win delegates."

No endorsement -- yet

Attention is now likely to focus on whether Edwards makes an endorsement.

"He has to make a decision before February 5th," Francia said. "If somebody scores a knockout punch, then an endorsement is not going to mean anything. The opportunity for him to have the biggest impact is between now and February 5th."

Edwards has been closer to Obama, with both articulating the need for sweeping change in Washington.

"John and Elizabeth believe deeply in the two Americas -- that the two Americas can become one," Obama said during a speech in Colorado. "Their campaign has ended, but this cause lives on for all of us who believe that we can achieve one America."

Edwards has said Clinton represents old-style, insider Washington politics. But Edwards split the white vote in South Carolina with Clinton, so his exit could also benefit her.

Clinton, campaigning in Alabama, said she admired what Edwards did "to make sure that poverty was on the agenda here in America. He encouraged all of us in his passion and advocacy, and I hope he will continue that work because it is really important that we stay focused on what we're going to do to help people."

Edwards has 26 delegates that he's earned through primaries and caucuses, all of whom remain pledged to him until the convention. That's because Edwards didn't officially withdraw from the campaign -- he just suspended his candidacy. Campaign officials said they did that, though, for financial reasons.

Delegates wait for word

Under Democratic party rules, delegates are always free to vote for anyone they favor at the convention, but that doesn't mean they will do so without Edwards' blessing. Many may wait for a signal from him before turning elsewhere with their votes.

There is another level of delegates called superdelegates, who are elected officials and other party leaders. They are free agents and can support anyone they like, operating outside the primary and caucus system.

It didn't take long for the Obama and Clinton campaigns to move in on Edwards' superdelegates. U.S. Rep. Brad Miller's cell phone buzzed about 10 a.m. Wednesday with a call from a congressman who supports Obama, saying the Illinois senator would be interested in speaking with Miller next week.

Obama's and Clinton's campaigns also put in calls to Price -- and presumably to other Edwards supporters as well.

Both Triangle congressmen said they haven't made a decision on whom to back now that Edwards is out of the race.

After the announcement, Edwards walked a few yards to help nail siding onto a house in Musicians Village, a grid of new homes being built by Habitat for Humanity mostly for musicians displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

Edwards made the construction work a family effort. Elizabeth Edwards helped measure and their son, Jack, slipped small pieces of water sealant paper behind the seams. Edwards did the hammering.

Peter Weidmann, a 38-year-old carpenter from Baltimore, was one of the volunteers working with the Edwardses. He appreciated that Edwards received pledges from Obama and Clinton to focus on poverty.

"He's a unifier," Weidmann said. "We're sorry he didn't make it all the way."

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