NPR takes a look at Edwards’ first campaign, the 1998 Senate race versus incumbent Lauch Faircloth:
While Faircloth had spent a lifetime in government, Edwards was an outsider. While Faircloth was a pro-business conservative, Edwards ran as a populist moderate. And while Faircloth was an uncomfortable campaigner with a grandfatherly appearance, Edwards had a youthful look that would later lead People magazine to name him the “sexiest politician alive.”
Chuck Fuller, who managed Faircloth’s campaign, says it was difficult for Faircloth, who had “40 years in North Carolina, giving back to the state” to run “against somebody that was flashy and had a good haircut.”
