John Edwards

Personal
Born: June 10, 1953, in Seneca, S.C.

Hometown: Raleigh, N.C.

Family: Married to Elizabeth Edwards. Three children, Cate, a senior at Princeton; Emma Claire, 5; and Jack, 3. Son Wade, 16, died in 1996

Education: North Carolina State University, bachelor of science, 1974. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, law degree, 1977

Career: Attorney, 1977-98. U.S. Senate, 1998-present

By the numbers
3 -- Number of marathons Edwards has completed

2000 -- Year he was named sexiest politician in People magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” issue

$20 million to $40 million -- Estimates of Edwards’ personal fortune amassed as a trial lawyer

$8.3 million -- Amount Edwards spent in his 1998 Senate campaign against incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth

75% -- Amount of the $8.3 million that was Edwards’ own money

51% -- Percent of the vote won by Edwards in his Senate bid, against Faircloth’s 47%

$5 million -- Amount for which Edwards sold his North Carolina law practice in 2002

$500 -- Price of one concert ticket and backstage pass to Hootie and the Blowfish’s fundraising concert Jan. 30 for Edwards in Columbia, S.C.

1,926 -- Amazon.com sales rank of Edwards’ 2003 autobiographical courtroom book, “Four Trials”

A closer look
• Edwards, the son of a textile-mill worker father and a shopkeeper and postal employee mother, was the first in his family to attend college.

• The freshman senator oversaw the depositions of key witnesses, including Monica S. Lewinsky and Vernon E. Jordan Jr., in President Clinton’s 1999 impeachment trial, dramatically raising his political profile. This in part led to the one-term junior senator being tapped as Al Gore’s unlikely second choice for a running mate during his 2000 presidential bid.

• Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth, established a scholarship at the University of North Carolina in honor of Elizabeth’s father, a former lacrosse player and coach at the university, and built a computer lab in Raleigh in memory of their son Wade.

The lowdown
Edwards surprised pundits when he out-raised opponents in the first quarter of 2003, thanks to support from trial lawyers. Since then, his fundraising has fallen off and Edwards has settled far back in the pack. Lately, however, he has outshone opponents in debates and drawn bigger crowds. A surprise finish in Iowa could help in New Hampshire and South Carolina, where Edwards faces a must-win test Feb. 3. His avoidance of negative campaigning has won favor with voters. But many question whether the senator has the experience for the White House.

Sources: The Almanac of American Politics, https://www.johnedwards2004.com , Amazon.com, Christian Science Monitor

Analysis by Times staff writer Mark Z. Barabak