The US Democratic presidential candidate, Senator John Kerry, yesterday chose Senator John Edwards of North Carolina as his running mate, in a move that was seen as injecting vigour, populism and small-town southern appeal into his campaign to win election in November, Conor O'Clery in New York.
Mr Kerry made the announcement at an early-morning rally in Pittsburgh, where a huge crowd of supporters burst out cheering and waved Kerry-Edwards placards printed overnight.
The 51-year-old former trial lawyer flew from Washington to Pittsburgh with his wife, Elizabeth, last night to join the Massachusetts senator and Ms Teresa Heinz Kerry for dinner on the Kerry estate.
The selection of Mr Edwards moves the US presidential election campaign up to a new level three weeks before the Democratic convention in Boston and almost four months before the presidential election in November.
Today the two couples will make their first joint appearance at rallies in Cleveland and Dayton in the key battleground state of Ohio.
Mr Kerry did not make his decision known to Mr Edwards until 7 a.m. yesterday, when he called his former rival from the democratic primaries and said: "Teresa and I would like to ask you and Elizabeth to join us on our ticket to take back our country."
"I was humbled by his offer and thrilled to accept it," Mr Edwards said in a statement at his home in Washington.
The Republican National Committee criticised Mr Edwards, calling him a "disingenuous, unacomplished liberal" and within seconds of the announcement issued a denunciation of his record as a trial lawyer against big corporations.
The Bush campaign immediately began running television ads entitled "First Choice", showing Republican Senator John McCain - a fellow Vietnam veteran whom Kerry had earlier considered - praising and embracing President George Bush.
Uniquely, Mr McCain, a friend and defender of Mr Kerry, has now appeared in ads for both campaigns: in May the Democratic candidate ran a commercial showing himself and McCain, with a voiceover saying: "He joined with John McCain to find the truth about POWs and MIAs in Vietnam."
Mr Kerry's decision was widely anticipated, but even his top campaign officials were kept in the dark until Monday evening, with Congressman Dick Gephardt of Missouri and the Iowa Governor, Mr Tom Vilsack, still in the running.
By the time Mr Kerry later boarded his aircraft for a speech in Indianapolis yesterday, it sported a Kerry-Edwards logo.
Vice-President Dick Cheney called Mr Edwards to congratulate him and to look forward to the vice-presidential debate in Cleveland on October 5th.
Mr Kerry, who said he couldn't wait to see Mr Edwards go "toe-to-toe" with Mr Cheney, said he had chosen someone "who has shown courage and conviction as a champion for middle-class Americans and for those struggling to reach the middle class."
It is rare for two senators to share a presidential ticket, but Senators Kerry and Edwards had few major policy disagreements in Congress.
Both voted for the war in Iraq and against the $87 billion package for Iraq and Afghanistan, but clashed on trade agreements which Mr Edwards opposed.