Updated: NEW ORLEANS — Democratic candidate John Edwards has decided to drop out of the presidential primary race, giving a speech this afternoon at the same place where he began this campaign — in New Orleans.

Throughout this season, Mr. Edwards hasn’t been able to break through the dueling high-profile candidacies of Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama. And he had not been able to raise the kind of funds that those two had early on.

On Tuesday, John Edwards placed telephone calls to Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, saying that he was considering leaving the race. He spoke to each of his two rivals in separate conversations for several minutes.

According to people familiar with the conversations, Mr. Edwards offered no specific timeline for when he would withdraw or whether he would endorse one of their candidacies. But he asked both of his rivals to commit to talking about poverty more during the rest of the Democratic nominating fight as well as the general election.



John C. Moylan, a close friend and campaign adviser, said that Mr. Edwards came to the decision to drop out within the last 24 hours. “I think the timing now felt right to him,” Mr. Moylan said. “He felt like it would do more good if he stepped aside.”

He added, “I don’t think there was one overriding decision that says you have to get out now. Clearly he could have stuck it out.”

Mr. Moylan said Mr. Edwards was still “very upbeat, very optimistic.”

Mr. Edwards began placing phone calls Wednesday morning to inform people of his decision. His wife, Elizabeth, and their children are traveling to New Orleans this morning to be on hand for the speech.

Top advisers said that Mr. Edwards would not be endorsing another candidate today when he makes his announcement at 1 p.m. On Tuesday, Mr. Edwards canceled events in Alabama and North Dakota, opting instead to fly to New Orleans late Tuesday night. His press aides told reporters that he would make a “major policy speech” on poverty, in the city where Mr. Edwards announced his candidacy in December 2006.

He placed a distant third last night in Florida’s primary. And even more disappointing, as a native of South Carolina, he finished in the mid-teens there, as Mr. Obama won overwhelmingly. Mr. Edwards had campaigned heavily in Iowa for months and months, fine-turning a populist message and issuing many proposals, including one on health care, long before his rivals issued theirs. In the caucuses, he finished second, but just around a percentage point ahead of Mrs. Clinton.

As the primary season headed toward Super Tuesday, and several of the big Southern states, Mr. Edwards was expected to draw a swath of white voters his way.