COLUMBIA, S.C. - Barack Obama’s nod from John Edwards Wednesday is paying off — big time.

According to the Associated Press, Obama has picked up four of Edwards’ delegates and the approval of the United Steelworkers Union, which has 600,000 active members.

All that means Obama’s delegate total is only 134 short of those needed to get the nomination. Edwards has 19 delegates in three states. The AP says those delegates can choose whomever they want, “but several have said Edwards’ endorsement is important to their decision.”

As worded in a press release to the media:

WASHINGTON – Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Robert M. “Mike” Duncan released the following statement today:

“Barack Obama and John Edwards share an out-of-touch agenda that would raise taxes on families while cutting funding for our troops.  The only question is why didn’t Edwards endorse sooner?  Edwards’ endorsement of a candidate he previously blasted as inexperienced, hypocritical, and lacking substance will not help Obama with voters looking for real change.” (more…)

RALEIGH, N.C. - One of the candidates in the Democratic primary for labor commissioner wants a redo. 

John Brooks ended up in second place after Mary Fant Donnan in the primary. According to the Associated Press, he asked the State Board of Elections Tuesday to hold a June 24 runoff.

Results show Donnan — one of four candidates — received 27.6 percent of the vote. She needed 40 percent to avoid a runoff. Brooks, the labor commissioner between 1977 and 1993, was in second with 24.4 percent.

The winner will face GOP incumbent Cherie Berry in November.