"About the only barometer I have as it applies to the presidential race occurred when I went down to Moore County - that's Senator Edwards' home," Coble said.
"When I went down there during the presidential election, Democrats came to me and complained about how Senator Edwards had deserted them. 'We elected him to the Senate, not to the presidency. And we want him to concentrate more on the Senate.'
"And they came to me asking me to go tell him that."
The candidate
Barbara Allen couldn't be happier.
The chairwoman of the N.C. Democratic Party says that interest in this year's presidential election is high, that registration is higher - and that Democrats across the state look to benefit from Edwards' campaign.
It could be, she said, the best thing to happen to the N.C. Democratic Party since 1976.
"I've never seen as much involvement as I have seen this time," she said.
"I was talking to somebody in Wilmington today, and they registered more than 500 voters. ... I think this speaks for what's happening out there.
"And certainly I know that North Carolina has not gone for a Democratic president since 1976, but this might be the year."
There is a calculable difference from previous years in the amount of money the Democratic National Committee is putting into the state, said Ferrel Guillory, director of UNC's Program on Southern Politics, Media and Public Life.
"Edwards has engendered a lot of enthusiasm," he said. "And it's kind of kicked up a notch or two the efforts on the part of the Democratic Party. It has ensured that the national Democratic Party has put some money into North Carolina."
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And although most pundits don't believe the Kerry-Edwards ticket can topple President Bush and decades of N.C. tradition, many say there will be measurable impacts in the state.
UNC political science Professor Thad Beyle said Edwards is already helping to cut into the Bush lead.
In North Carolina, the president is ahead of Kerry 50 percent to 47 percent in the latest survey available at press time: a poll of 627 likely voters performed Friday through Sunday for Survey USA.
And because the poll's margin of error is 4 percent, the state's presidential race - at least for now - can be considered a statistical dead heat.
But Bush took the Tar Heel state by an almost double-digit margin in 2000 over then-Vice President Al Gore.
"In a campaign, he already has had an impact and will continue to do so in North Carolina specifically," Beyle said.
"Does Senator Edwards assure Senator Kerry of carrying North Carolina? President Bush remains the favorite in this state."
But Beyle added that Edwards "has clearly made North Carolina more competitive than it would have otherwise been."
That competitive edge doesn't just apply to Kerry. Democrats in local and statewide races will benefit from the influx of Democratic funding and the heightened prominence Edwards has brought to the state.
And though that might have an impact on only a small number of percentage points in the race for the presidency, "that 2 or 3 percent means President Bush's coattails will be shorter," Beyle said. "(Senate candidate) Erskine Bowles, (incumbent Gov.) Mike Easley - neither one has to fight against a huge Republican landslide.
"It might win a few swing voters - most Republicans are still going to vote for Bush - but Joe Lieberman didn't campaign in this state at all."
The vice president
Mike McIntyre is confident that Edwards as vice president would benefit the people of Robeson County.
That's why he staked out a seat behind Edwards' daughter, Cate, at the vice presidential debate. That's why he brought his two sons to the Democratic National Convention wearing "Turn it Blue" T-shirts.
"The benefit is that when I call, should he become Vice President Edwards, he knows not only where Robbins, North Carolina, is but he knows what the plight of the Robeson County schools is," said McIntyre, who represents one of the state's poorest counties in the U.S. House.
"He knows where the small towns like Wytheville, North Carolina, are. He's been with me at the hospital in Fayetteville. He knows where these places are, so then we don't talk in theory, we talk in reality.
"Imagine the difference it makes when you can pick up the phone and say 'John, this is how this is playing out back home.'"
But not everyone is confident that Edwards will have enough influence to substantially impact specific places in his home state.
Many asked similar questions about Dick Cheney and his potential impact on his home state of Wyoming when George W. Bush chose him as a running mate in 2000.
Cheney's impact at home has been minimal, said Jim King, a political science professor at the University of Wyoming, adding that he doesn't expect a boon to the Tar Heel state if Kerry and Edwards win.
"See, I don't think really the vice president has much of an impact," King said. "I think just generally the only impact is that you've got a president and a vice president who are favorable to this state ideologically.
"When you're the vice president, you have a whole different constituency. You've got a broader responsibility."
On March 3, when Edwards stood on a stage at Broughton High School in Raleigh to announce the suspension of his presidential campaign, he spoke of the people he once hoped to fight for in the White House.
"I can picture their faces as clear as they are in front of me right now, lint in their hair and grease on their faces, men and women who represent the best of what America is," he said.
The next few weeks will determine whether or not he's able to make a difference in their lives.
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
