US presidential hopeful Barack Obama is set to secure the backing of veteran Irish-American senator Edward Kennedy later today.
Mr Kennedy, a leading liberal voice in the US Congress, will endorse Mr Obama’s campaign this evening at an event in Washington, Democratic sources said.
Mr Kennedy, a veteran Democrat from Massachusetts, will be accompanied by his niece, Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of the late president John F Kennedy, who has already endorsed Mr Obama.
She wrote in yesterday’s New York Times that Mr Obama seems to be able to inspire people as her father did a half century ago.
After scoring a landslide win over Hillary Clinton in a South Carolina primary on Saturday, Mr Obama played down the importance the issue of race played in his victory.
"People want change. I think they want to get beyond some of the racial politics that, you know, has been so dominant in the past," said Mr Obama.
Exit polls showed Mr Obama also won one-quarter of white votes and did very well among young voters.
His victory, after losses to Ms Clinton in New Hampshire and Nevada, gave him momentum heading into the "Super Tuesday" Democratic contests in 22 states for their party’s presidential nomination.
The Republican presidential contenders, who held their primary in South Carolina last week, are focused on Florida’s primary tomorrow where a struggling Rudy Giuliani is banking on a strong showing.
He rejected polls that show him running fourth in Florida behind Senator John McCain of Arizona, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.