the only elected Democrat above the county level. It was generally understood that he would be succeeded by a Republican when he retired. In 2006, Edwards ran for reelection against Republican Van Taylor, a former Marine Corps reservist and Iraq War veteran, and was re-elected with 58% of the vote to Taylor's 40%. On February 18, 2008, Edwards officially endorsed Barack Obama in the Texas March 4 Democratic primary. In late June 2008, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi publicly suggested that Edwards would be a great choice as Obama's vice-presidential running mate. Edwards stated that he would accept such an offer from Obama. On August 22, the Associated Press reported that Edwards was on Obama's short-list as a potential running-mate. 2008 In November 2008, Edwards was reelected, defeating Republican Rob Curnock, a Waco video business owner, with 53 percent of the vote. John McCain carried the 17th with 67 percent of the vote. 2010 Edwards was challenged by Republican nominee Bill Flores, a retired Bryan oil and gas executive. Edwards was endorsed by the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Nate Silver in the FiveThirtyEight.com New York Times blog predicted that there was a 4.7% chance that Edwards would defeat Flores. Real Clear Politics rated this race "Likely Republican". On November 2, 2010, Edwards was heavily defeated, taking 37 percent of the vote to Flores' 62 percent. He lost his home county of McLennan. This was the largest margin of defeat for a Democratic incumbent in the 2010 cycle. Edwards' term ended on January 3, 2011. Personal life Since leaving Congress in 2011, Edwards has established Edwards, Davis Stover & Associates, LLC with his former chief of staff, Lindsey Davis Stover, and continues to be involved with veterans issues in the Washington, D.C. area through his work on the boards of the Military Child Education Coalition and the Arlington National Cemetery Advisory Commission. He is married to Lea Ann Wood from Paducah, Kentucky. They have two sons, J.T. and Garrison. He was raised a Methodist. References External links Chet Edwards for U.S. Congress official campaign site |- |- |- 1951 births 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians American United Methodists Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas Harvard Business School alumni Living people People from Corpus Christi, Texas People from Duncanville, Texas Texas A&M University alumni Democratic Party Texas state senators United