CONWAY, N.H. (AP) – John Edwards made a final move Wednesday to shore up New Hampshire support ahead of Iowa’s caucuses on promises of fighting the establishment, changing Washington, being electable – and even speaking with a Southern accent.

Edwards, on a 300-mile, one-day campaign tour through New Hampshire, appealed to his populist themes during stops. He bemoaned corporate power and the influence of lobbyists, criticized entrenched Washington interests and promised to fight the establishment – all pieces of his case for an Edwards presidency.

“You’d better choose someone as your candidate who’s ready for this battle. Nice words will not change anything,” Edwards said in this northern New England town. “I’m not talking about fighting with politicians.”

While the former North Carolina senator would rather fight “big business” and “corporate greed,” he remains in a tight race with rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama in Iowa.

“It’s a very competitive race. From everything I see, it’s a dead heat between the three of us,” Edwards told reporters after going door-to-door looking for votes earlier Wednesday morning in Nashua.

“This is my last day here. We’ll go from here to Iowa very late tonight … I, Elizabeth, my kids, my parents – everybody will be stationed in Iowa between now and Jan. 3.”

Edwards has spent years building an organization in Iowa. Here in New Hampshire, however, recent polls show Clinton and Obama in a tight race for its Jan. 8 primary; Edwards remains a distant second. Edwards’ advisers hope a strong showing in Iowa lets him slingshot from Iowa into New Hampshire, where he has a solid organization to catch him and is poised to tap any momentum.

“Having done this once before, this is crunch time, now’s when it matters,” Edwards said.

He refrained from criticizing his rivals, fearing Iowa voters will reject overtly negative campaigning.

“My fight is not with politicians. My fight is on behalf of those kinds of people I grew up who deserve a real chance in this country,” Edwards said in Conway.

But he did say that he would help down-ticket races, such as those for Congress or governor, citing recent polls that suggest he defeats Republicans in hypothetical matchups. He also suggested others – without naming names – that some of his rivals could hurt peers in moderate districts and states.

“I beat all of (the Republicans). I beat most of them very handily. There’s nowhere I can’t go and campaign with our congressional candidates,” Edwards said, hinting that Clinton or Obama might be a drag on down-ticket races.

He also cited his small-town, Southern roots as an asset.

“The last two Democratic presidents, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter,” said in his Carolina twang, “both talk like me.”

And while Edwards resisted direct comments about his rivals, a former aide began running ads in support of Edwards in Iowa. Edwards’ 2004 campaign manager Nick Baldick and his Alliance for New America began on Wednesday running television ads on Wednesday.

Edwards said he didn’t see conflict between receiving the support and his opposition to outside groups.

“I think that 527s should be outlawed,” he said, referring the tax code governing the independent groups. “What we ultimately need to do is not just to stop the 527s, we need to be publicly financing all of our campaigns. It’s a centerpiece of my campaign, to get this money out of politics.”

AP-ES-12-26-07 1448EST