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Edwards to Continue His Run for President

Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina says he will not suspend his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, despite the rediscovery of cancer in his wife, Elizabeth. The announcement came at a noon press conference the couple held Thursday in their hometown of Chapel Hill, N.C.

Elizabeth Edwards was first discovered to have breast cancer in October 2004, when her husband was the Democratic vice presidential nominee. She has since had surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatment, and was thought to be cancer-free. But the couple announced Thursday that the cancer has returned, this time in her bone, which Edwards said was incurable but treatable.

Still, Edwards says he will remain in the race for the nomination.

"The campaign goes on," he said. "The campaign goes on strongly."

Elizabeth Edwards said, "I don't look sickly, I don't feel sickly. I am as ready as any person can be for that."

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

John Ydstie has covered the economy, Wall Street, and the Federal Reserve at NPR for nearly three decades. Over the years, NPR has also employed Ydstie's reporting skills to cover major stories like the aftermath of Sept. 11, Hurricane Katrina, the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, and the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. He was a lead reporter in NPR's coverage of the global financial crisis and the Great Recession, as well as the network's coverage of President Trump's economic policies. Ydstie has also been a guest host on the NPR news programs Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition. Ydstie stepped back from full-time reporting in late 2018, but plans to continue to contribute to NPR through part-time assignments and work on special projects.