USATODAY.com - Sen. Edwards enters Democratic race for president

Edwards is the third Democrat to formalize his White House ambitions by creating a committee to raise money for a presidential run. Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and outgoing Vermont Gov. Howard Dean already are running.

Missouri Rep. Richard Gephardt is expected to set up a fundraising committee next week, followed by Sens. Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut the week after. The field could grow even more. Retired Gen. Wesley Clark of Arkansas is among those assessing their odds in Iowa and other states with early primaries.

Edwards, 49, has been on the Democratic Party's rising-star roster since he defeated Sen. Lauch Faircloth, R-N.C., in 1998. He says he offers a stark alternative to President Bush: "Somebody who comes from regular people and has spent his entire life fighting for them, in contrast with an administration largely run by insiders and too often for insiders. It's a dramatic choice and a dramatic difference."

2004 Democratic hopefuls' list likely to grow quickly

The Rev. Al Sharpton plans to file papers for an exploratory committee on Jan. 21, aides say.

Sen. Bob Graham of Florida is expected to announce his intentions later this month. Delaware Sen. Joe Biden and Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd are considering bids, too.

In Iowa, site of the Democrats' first 2004 presidential contest, Edwards, Dean and Gephardt have made an impression with their early work, though party activists say the state still is open.

And in South Carolina, which holds a primary a week after New Hampshire, Edwards would seem to have an advantage, being born in upstate South Carolina and raised in North Carolina.

In New Hampshire, site of the nation's first presidential primary, Kerry has an early advantage because he is from neighboring Massachusetts. But that could add a risk, too, by raising expectations.

Money is going to be a big factor for the primary season as well as getting a fast start in a crowded field.