Mari Culver May Endorse Edwards

Marc Ambinder is reporting that Mari Culver, the wife of Iowa Gov. Chet Culver, is rumored to be endorsing John Edwards tomorrow.

Rumors abound on the campaign trail today that a big Iowa voice is set to endorse John Edwards. His campaign is mum, but Democratic sources in Iowa believe that Mari Culver, the wife of Gov. Chet Culver (D), is set to endorse the former North Carolina senator tomorrow.

The governor himself is said to be remaining neutral, but if his wife endorses Edwards, the larger Culver orbit will be seen to have descended on Edwards's campaign. (Mari Culver endorsed Edwards in 2004).

Gov. Culver's chief of staff, Patrick Dillon, worked for Edwards in Iowa in 2004, and his is married to Jennifer O'Malley, Edwards's state director. Another Edwards alum serves as Culver's communications director.

This won't be as big of deal as Christie Vilsack's endorsement of John Kerry back in 2004 because the Culver's have only been in office for a year. However, it is big news for Edwards because it gets him back in the news after he lost the Des Moines Register vote to Hillary.