On September 15, 2003, Edwards fulfilled a promise he made a year earlier as a guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to unofficially announce his intention to seek the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination.

[2][3] Edwards struggled to gain substantial support, but his poll numbers began to rise steadily weeks before the Iowa caucuses.

Edwards had a surprising second-place finish with the support of 32% of delegates, behind only John Kerry's 39% and ahead of former front-runner Howard Dean at 18%.

In the Super Tuesday primaries on March 2, Kerry finished well ahead in nine of the ten states voting, and Edwards' campaign ended.

In Georgia, Edwards finished only slightly behind Kerry but, failing to win a single state, chose to withdraw from the race.

On July 6, 2004 Kerry announced that Edwards would be his running mate; the decision was widely hailed in public opinion polls and by Democratic leaders.

The nomination caused the Chamber of Commerce network to throw its support to George W. Bush due to Edwards' opposition to tort reform.