US Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry selected former rival John Edwards to be his running mate, picking the smooth-talking Southern populist over more seasoned politicians in hopes of injecting vigor and small-town appeal to the Democratic presidential ticket, The AP learned Tuesday.

Edwards, Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt and Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack were identified by campaign aides as finalists, and Kerry spent the Independence Day holiday in Iowa. But Edwards interrupted his Walt Disney World vacation last week to meet with Kerry, according to reports.

The Massachusetts senator said as late as Monday he had not settled on a running mate, but that didn't stop the rampant speculation in Democratic circles. Party leaders said they were told to expect a decision Tuesday.

"I've made no decision at this point in time, and I'm going to continue to keep it a private and personal process until I announce it publicly," the senator told WTAE, an ABC affiliate in Pittsburgh, on Monday. Since the search began in March, Kerry's staff has disclosed almost nothing about his list of candidates, their interviews and his winnowing process.

Edwards, a polished populist from North Carolina, outlasted all but Kerry in the Democratic primary fight and is the favorite of many party regulars.

The Kerry campaign has a staff of more than a dozen standing ready to serve the vice presidential nominee. Several other aides, preparing to respond to GOP criticism of Kerry's pick, have material in hand for a half dozen potential candidates, though they have no assurances that their secretive boss will pick from that list.

The focus of last-minute speculation, Edwards is the favorite of many Democratic activists because of his youthful good looks, a self-assured manner and a message that focused on President Bush's "two Americas" �� one for the wealthy and another for everybody else.

Others express concern that Edwards, whose only political credential is a single term in the Senate, lacks the experience in international affairs, particularly in wartime, to be a credible candidate to assume the presidency in the case of death, resignation or removal.

Edwards, 51, seldom criticized Kerry or any of the other Democrats while running a generally positive campaign. The two had few major policy disagreements �� both supported the decision to go to war in Iraq, for example, and both voted against the $87 billion package for Iraq and Afghanistan.

Kerry finished first and Edwards second in the Iowa caucuses in January, surprising front-runner Howard Dean and driving regional favorite Gephardt out of the race.

Source: Agencies