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Presidential Election Odds: Edwards drops out of race

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Democrat John Edwards drops out of race ahead of Super Tuesday. Will he endorse Obama?

1430 GMT

John Edwards has dropped out of the race to become the Democratic nominee for President. He failed to win any of the opening primaries and is adrift of front-runners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. The official announcement is expected around 1800 GMT this evening in a campaign speech in New Orleans.

Rumours are circulating that he will endorse Barack Obama to secure the nomination, which would have a very positive impact for the Illinois Senator ahead of the Super Tuesday primaries next week. Although Edwards failed to win any of the contests thus far he has been a constant presence in the campaign and always secured double-digit support. In Florida last night, for example, he came third with 14% of the total and with this level of support his endorsement would be a real coup for the Obama camp.

If the endorsement does go to Obama you could expect his odds to shorten on Betfair as the race tightens even further going into the crunch day on Tuesday.

Current Betfair odds:
Hillary Clinton: [1.55]
Barack Obama: [2.84]

Visit the new Betfair Politics Zone launched for Super Tuesday: http://politics.betfair.com