U.S. Senator John Edwards, a candidate running for the 2008 presidential election, is coming to Madison sometime in the coming year, UW Students for John Edwards announced at their kickoff meeting Sunday at Union South.

“John Edwards will be coming to Madison, and I want to be able to pack that place with a thousand people,” said Peter Rickman, student organizer of SFJE and state director for the campaign.

Student supporters said they admired Edwards for his honesty, leadership and his willingness to combat issues of social justice.

“John Edwards isn’t the sexiest candidate for presidency—he’s not African American and not a woman—but he is the one who gets to the heart of the matter and is standing up for how this country really should be,” UW-Madison junior Sarah Ready said.

Ben Taft, co-chair of SFJE and UW-Madison senior, said Edwards is a candidate who is “not afraid to go out on a limb.”

“I support him because he speaks from his conscience about issues of social justice, and his policies back it up,” Taft said.

Rickman said the campaign is not just about getting Edwards elected next November but about getting changes implemented right now.

“The even numbered years aren’t the only times that we care about these issues,” Rickman said. “A huge part of our campaign is taking action: political action and action in one’s community. The government can’t fix all of our problems.”

Rickman said the upcoming year is a “golden opportunity” for students to take a leadership role and make a difference.

“You can be the one who says ‘I helped elect that president; I helped build a social-justice government,’” Rickman said. “John Edwards is not a candidate of big money, and he needs people to help make it happen.”

Rickman confirmed that Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz would be endorsing Edwards in the upcoming campaign.

“The Democrat Party needs to be able to win in all 50 states, and there’s one candidate that’s going to do that: John Edwards,” Rickman said.