Former Sen. John Edwards endorsed Sen. Barack Obama Wednesday night at a campaign event in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Edwards, who grew up in Robbins, dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination on Jan. 30 after poor showings in several early primaries and caucuses. He has so far remained silent on his choice between Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton. He told NBC last week that Obama, the current Democratic front-runner, is the party's likely nominee.

Edwards said last week that it was "fine" for Clinton to continue making her case, but expressed concern that a continued campaign could damage the party's prospects in November.

Edwards had stressed his support for the little guy and pledged to fight special interests. After dropping out of the race, Edwards asked both Clinton and Obama to make poverty a central issue in the general election and a future Democratic administration. Both agreed to do so.

"An endorsement from Edwards -- who ran as vice president on Sen. John Kerry's ticket in the 2004 presidential election -- would have a significant impact on the race," CNN said tonight. It quoted Democratic strategist Peter Fenn as saying, "You could make an argument that the change issue does benefit Barack Obama, that he picks up that support. You could also make the argument that there's a lot of support out there amongst people that will go to Hillary. The big issue here is who will he endorse."

Edwards announced he was dropping out in New Orleans, the same city where he declared his run for the 2008 Democratic presidential race. "It is time for me to step aside so that history can blaze its path," he said. His parents live in Robbins.