LAS VEGAS - Former vice presidential candidate John Edwards will join the lineup of Democratic presidential candidates at a Feb. 21 forum in Carson City, party officials said.
Party spokeswoman Kirsten Searer said Edwards, a former North Carolina senator, confirmed his attendance Wednesday, the day after Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., another front-runner in the 2008 race, agreed to participate.
Sens. Joe Biden and Chris Dodd, former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel also have accepted invitations to the event, which is sponsored by the state party and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
Sen. Barack Obama has not yet agreed to attend. The Illinois senator is scheduled to formally announce his candidacy Saturday.
Retired Gen. Wesley Clark has expressed interest, but has not formally signed on, Searer said.
The format for the noon forum in the state capital will not allow the candidates to interact or debate.
Each will appear on stage individually, give a statement and answer questions from a moderator.
The event is the first of five scheduled in Nevada leading up to the state's Jan. 19 caucus, the second in the nation at the start of the 2008 election year. State leaders have been trying to lure candidates to campaign in Nevada since Democrats moved the caucus earlier in an attempt to give Western voters a say in picking the nominee.