Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards reissued a challenge to his competitors on Thursday.
"For our party and our presidential candidates to say from this day forward we will never take another dime from Washington lobbyists, we’re done with that," Edwards said during a speech at the Des Moines Register’s "Soapbox" at the State Fair. "We are ending their game."
On Monday as Edwards kicked off his week-long bus tour of the state, Edwards said all the Democrats running for president should refuse to accept campaign contributions from Washington, D.C. lobbyists.
Barack Obama, one of the other Democrats running for president, does not accept campaign checks from congressional lobbyists and Obama issued a statement Thursday saying he "appreciates what…Edwards is saying" but "it’s not enough just to refuse" to take campaign money from lobbyists.
Obama said more must be done to "curb" the influence lobbyists wield in Washington.