Inclement weather forced a halt in Democratic campaigning in Wisconsin on Sunday, but gave Barack Obama a chance to slip away nearly undetected to meet with former rival John Edwards.

Edwards suspended his presidential campaign after the South Carolina Democratic primary but kept in place the 26 delegates he had won during earlier contests. Their role could be crucial as the Democratic presidential nominating contest gets numerically more difficult for either Obama or Hillary Clinton to win.

The former North Carolina senator had made poverty the central issue of his campaign and both camps promised to carry his message forward. Clinton visited with Edwards at his home on Feb. 7.

Obama's visit was rescheduled from a week ago after a barrage of media parked outside the Edwards mansion in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Obama campaign officials confirmed to FOX News on Sunday that the meeting took place.

"Senator Obama visited this morning with John and Elizabeth Edwards at their home in Chapel Hill to discuss the state of the campaign and the pressing issues facing American families," a spokesman said.

In an interview Sunday night with WITI-TV in Milwaukee, Obama said, "The meeting with John, we just wanted to talk about how we can move the party in a direction that focuses on middle-class issues -- relieving poverty, reducing the influence of special interests in Washington."

People close to the Edwardses, speaking privately, say they have been torn about whom to support. The former North Carolina senator is concerned that Obama may not be ready for the presidency and that his health care plan is inferior. But Edwards was highly critical of Clinton -- her policies, her ties to special interests and her character -- during his campaign, making it more difficult to support her now.

The couple has been impressed with Clinton, who has more effectively courted them since the 2004 vice presidential nominee dropped out, people who talk to the Edwardses say. Obama has been less attentive, they say, and some of those close to the Edwardses have been annoyed that Obama has continued to ridicule him for once saying his biggest weakness is that he has a powerful response to seeing pain in others.

since Edwards has left the race, Obama often praises him in public. This week he told Wisconsin voters that Edwards will "be a major voice in the Democratic party for years to come, and I want him involved and partnering with me in moving this country forward."

None of the other former Democratic presidential candidates -- Chris Dodd, Joe Biden, Bill Richardson or Dennis Kucinich -- have endorsed Obama or Clinton, reflecting the party's split over who would be the best president.

Click here to see video of the Obama visit to the Edwardses' house.

FOX News' Bonney Kapp and The Associated Press contributed to this report.