BY MATTHEW MORIARTY: Staff Writer

Throughout much of the early race, Sen. John Edwards’ presidential campaign has been as easy to miss as the Robbins exit on U.S. 220.

Not anymore. Like his hometown, Edwards is now on the political map, thanks to a strong second-place finish in the Iowa caucus Monday.

Edwards finished second to Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry in the Democratic caucus. Edwards received the support of 32 percent of the caucus goers. Kerry finished with 38 percent.

Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, the front-runner for much of the race, finished a distant third with 18 percent. Rep. Richard Gephardt of Missouri finished with 11 percent. He decided to drop out of the race Tuesday.

The Iowa caucus is the first real test for Democratic candidates. The next one, and the first official presidential primary, will be the New Hampshire primary next Tuesday.

Edwards met with Iowa supporters late Monday night, when most of the 1,993 caucuses had reported. He came out pumping his fist with a grin on his face.

“The people of Iowa tonight confirmed that they believe in a positive, uplifting vision to change America,” Edwards said. “And not only that, tonight we started a movement to change this country that will sweep across America.”

Edwards didn’t stray far from the same message he preached throughout the campaign. He spoke of there being two Americas — one for regular folks and one for the rich. It doesn’t have to be that way, he said repeatedly.

“It is wrong to have 35 million people living in our country living in poverty every single day,” Edwards said. “Not in the America you and I are going to build together. We have a moral responsibility to lift these families out of poverty.”

Considered a long shot as little as two weeks before the caucuses, Edwards made a turnaround that stunned many.

On “Larry King Live” Monday night, Edwards was simply asked what went right. He replied that his message of “hope and optimism” is finally getting through.

“The problem early on was there was so many negative attacks,” Edwards said. “It was hard to get that message through and for people to hear it. But finally here at the end, caucuses-goers in Iowa heard it. And that’s the reason for this momentum, for the surge.”

Political corespondent James Carville and co-host of CNN’s “Crossfire” said there was a different reason for Edwards’ surge. Carville called Edwards the best campaigner he’d ever seen, including Bill Clinton.

Edwards’ supporters agree. Tait Sye, Edwards’ New Hampshire deputy press secretary, said that Edwards’ work ethic helped him in Iowa.

“He spent a lot of time campaigning,” Sye said. “All that hard work paid off in the end. It didn’t happen overnight.”

Edwards didn’t stick around to bask in his momentary success. He flew to New Hampshire Monday night for a late rally. He had two events scheduled Tuesday morning. But, he told Larry King he wasn’t about to slow down.

“I’m having so much fun,” he said, “I can’t begin to tell you.”

Edwards’ campaign picked up momentum in the days leading up to the Iowa caucus, evidenced by a 10-point jump in the polls.

But he had a hurdle to overcome. It’s historically difficult to get supporters out to the caucuses in Iowa. Organization is said to be the key, and the other leading Democrats reportedly had much better organizational support.

Kerry, a Vietnam veteran, had the support of veteran groups, and Gephardt had labor unions pledging to people to the caucuses.

Unique Process

Iowa caucuses are unique, because caucus goers don’t cast votes. They debate and then show their support for a candidate by standing in that candidate’s corner of the room. It’s a process that can take several hours. Many enter the caucuses still undecided about which candidate to support.

Candidates have to get the support of at least 15 percent of the caucus-goers early on to be considered viable. People who support a candidate who doesn’t get 15 percent can then move to another camp.

Edwards benefited by picking up some of the support of those who had supported nonviable candidates, particularly Dennis Kucinich, a congressman from Ohio.

“Dennis and I are friends,” Edwards said on “Larry King Live.” “We talked a few days ago. If there were precincts he didn’t meet the viability standard … he would be willing to send his supporters over to me. … And if we had opportunities to help him, we would also do that.”

Edwards rise in the polls coincided with a surge by Kerry, as many pundits claimed that caucus-goers were searching for a fresh face. Kerry and Edwards also benefited from infighting among the other candidates.

Electability became the buzzword of the day. Exit poll numbers showed that caucus-goers were searching for someone who could win the presidency. A key factor for many undecided Democrats in Iowa was which candidate has the best chance of defeating President Bush in November, according to exit polls.

Edwards helped himself by running a clean campaign and not bashing the other candidates. Edwards’ target has most frequently been President Bush and tax cuts, which Edwards said help the wealthy. And during speeches, he often called attention to his Southern drawl.

He tried to convince crowds that, unlike the other candidates, he can compete with Bush in the South. Edwards calls the South his back yard.

“Edwards is the guy that scares the White House the most,” said Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Scarborough Country.”

Support Growing

The strong showing in Iowa has buoyed Edwards’ campaign nationwide. On Sunday, the campaign announced that online contributions have jumped 500 percent and individual contributions had grown 20 percent. Four out of every 10 contributors were first-timers, according to an Edwards’ press release.

Edwards’ campaign first began gaining steam at a debate held by the Des Moines Register, Iowa’s largest newspaper. While many candidates sniped on each other, Edwards managed to stick to his message. Register Editorial Editor Richard Doak declared Edwards the winner.

A few days later, the newspaper endorsed Edwards for the Democratic nomination. He then picked up some other big endorsements including Wayne Ford, the longest-serving black legislator in Iowa, and state Treasurer Mike Fitzgerald.

At the same time, crowds at his appearances began to swell, as did his poll numbers. He jumped from 8 to 18 percent. The numbers continued to grow and by the morning of the caucus, Edwards was at 23 percent.

That same morning, he picked up the endorsement of Iowa’s only statewide black newspaper, the Iowa Bystander.

For those reasons, Edwards said he wasn’t surprised to finish second, even though many projections had him finishing fourth.

“To be honest with you, three weeks ago, yes, I would have been surprised,” he said. “Yesterday, today, the day before, the last three or four days, we would go to events, there would be crowds of sometimes 1,000-plus people, people standing in the streets who couldn’t get in. So it became pretty obvious that there was something going on.”