Washington ? The Democratic field for the White House swelled to four Thursday as Sen. John Edwards announced his candidacy for president in 2004 and supporters of Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt announced formation of a presidential exploratory committee in the coming days.

The field is likely to grow to a half dozen or more in the next week or so — almost two years before the 2004 election.

Edwards, 49, announced Thursday he was entering the race for president, saying, “I want to be a champion for the people I have fought for all my life — regular people.” He joined Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry in the fast-growing Democratic field. Supporters of the 61-year-old Gephardt issued a statement late Thursday saying a reception to benefit his exploratory committee was scheduled for Jan. 22.

Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman also is expected to join the field soon. Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle is strongly leaning toward a run and probably will announce his decision by mid-January, associates say. And the Rev. Al Sharpton plans to file papers for an exploratory committee on Jan. 21, aides say.

Sen. Bob Graham of Florida is expected to announce his intentions later this month. Delaware Sen. Joe Biden and Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd are considering bids, too. Retired Gen. Wesley Clark of Little Rock, Ark., also has been mentioned as a possible candidate.

The Democrats in the field will compete for a chance in the 2004 elections to face President Bush, whose popularity has been high in the 16 months since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But the Bush administration faces an uncertain economy and growing international problems.

Bush said Thursday that he was not paying attention to the growing field of Democrats jockeying for the right to challenge him. He is too busy to pay any mind to “a lot of verbiage and a lot of noise and a lot of posturing and a lot of elbowing” on the Democratic side, he told reporters after a tour of his ranch in Crawford, Tex.

“One of these days, somebody will emerge, and we’ll tee it up, and see who the American people want to lead,” Bush said. “And until that happens, I’m going to be doing my job.”

In the meantime, Democrats are moving quickly to prepare for a primary season that won’t start until early next year.

Edwards is a multimillionaire trial lawyer who had never run for office before winning his Senate position in 1998.

Sen John Edwards, D-N.C., has formed an exploratory committee for a presidential run. Edwards announced his intentions to run for president Thursday in front of his Raleigh, N.C., home.