US Democratic Presidential candidate and former Senator John Edwards (D-NC) shakes his fist as he campaigns at the Friendship Haven Celebration Center in Fort Dodge, Iowa January 1, 2008.

US Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards announced on Wednesday to quit his bid for the White House, becoming the first major player to drop out of the race.

Edwards announced the decision during a speech in New Orleans, Louisiana, where his advisor said earlier he would join a housing charity and work with a rebuilding project.

"It is time for me to step aside so that history can blaze its path," Edwards said, adding he believes that Democratic party would make history.

The 54-year-old former North Carolina Senator has been left far behind by New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Illinois Senator Barack Obama in the four states' primaries or caucuses for the Democratic nomination for the November general election.

Only in Iowa, he surprisingly exceeded Clinton to reach the second place.

After losing the South Carolina primary on Saturday, Edwards vowed not to leave the race at least before Super Tuesday on February 5 when a total of 22 states will hold their Democratic contests.

One of the two candidates left in the race, Illinois Senator Barack Obama, bade farewell to Edwards and his wife Elizabeth on a Wednesday statement, saying "John Edwards has spent a lifetime fighting to give voice to the voiceless and hope to the struggling, even when it wasn't popular to do or covered in the news."

The speculation has been on for days whether Obama or Clinton would benefit from Edwards' 26 delegates to the party's nomination convention and support if he leaves the game, which was fueled by a private talk between Edwards and Clinton after the last Democratic presidential candidate TV debate in South Carolina.

On the other hand, Edwards has once shared Obama's message to bring changes to Washington.

However, Edwards has not yet disclose whether he would endorse any candidate.

According to a poll by Yahoo last month, 40 percent of Edwards's supporters said that their second choice in the race is Clinton, and about 25 percent prefers Obama.

Edwards dropped out of the presidential race for the party's nomination on March 3, 2004, as the end of his first bid for presidential candidacy. Then he endorsed the winner, John Kerry, and became the vice presidential candidate.

As the son of a millworker, Edwards has appealed to voters with his "underdog" story and vowed to protect labor rights. His wife, Elizabeth, who is suffering from cancer, also boosted support to him.

Among his populist messages, the cores are fighting poverty, affording universal health care coverage and reducing influence of special interest groups in Washington, which were embraced by a number of voters.

(Xinhua News Agency January 31, 2008)