Obama invades Edwards' rural congressional base

As the presidential primary season heads toward "Tsunami Tuesday" in 22 states on Feb. 5, Sen. Barack Obama has found support from two representatives from rural congressional districts, including Rep. Rick Boucher left, a Democrat from the 9th District in southwest Virginia, reports Rex Bowman of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

"Boucher's endorsement could give the Illinois senator an important base of support in rural Southwest Virginia in the state's Feb. 12 primary," Bowman writes. While state Democratic Chairman C. Richard Cranwell endorsed former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, Boucher said Obama can win in both urban and rural areas, Bowman reports. “I represent a rural district of 27 counties and cities in southwestern Virginia," Boucher said in a statement. "George Bush received 60 percent of the vote in my district in 2004. I believe Senator Obama can carry it in 2008, and no other Democratic candidate can.” (Read more)

While Edwards had drawn endorsements from rural representatives early in the campaign, some such as Boucher are leaning toward Obama now, reports Julie Ardery of The Daily Yonder. In charting endorsements from representatives of the 25 most rural Congressional districts, Ardery finds Obama has picked up two — one from Boucher and one from Vermont's only representative Peter Welch, an independent. Prior to last week, Edwards was the only candidate any Democratic representative from a rural district had endorsed publicly. Four rural Democrats had endorsed Edwards, including Rep. Michael H. Michaud, D-Maine, who called him "the best chance Democrats have at taking back the White House" back in October. On the Republican side, Mitt Romney has the support of six rural representatives. (Read more, including a full chart of the 25 most rural districts)