Lawyer and Democratic politician John Edwards served as the Senator for North Carolina from 1999-2005. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President during John Kerry's 2004 Presidential election run and was a candidate for the 2008 presidential nomination before dropping out in January 2008. On May 24, 2008, Edwards officially endorsed Barack Obama for the Democratic Presidential nomination.

During his run for the Democratic Presidential nominee, Edwards became the first Presidential candidate to run a "carbon neutral" campaign by buying carbon offsets to reduce his carbon emissions. While in office, he voted against oil drilling in the Arctic and supported the Kyoto Protocol.

Upon announcing his candidacy for President, Edwards stated that his main goals, if elected, would be to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq War, implement initiatives to help combat global warming, provide universal health care to Americans and eliminate poverty in the United States.