Presidential candidate John Edwards and Whidbey resident Frank King have a lot in common.

“Maybe we have relatives. Maybe we are distant cousins,” King said.

Both men are products of North Carolina, both have that southern drawl when they speak.

They both were raised by working class families.

Edwards and King even went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill at the same time. Edwards was working on his law degree, while King got a political science undergraduate degree.

Most importantly, however, is their resemblance.

And after a minimum of special effects make-up, many observers can’t tell them apart.

While Edwards wants to be the next president of the United States, King isn’t aiming so high; he hopes to earn a spot on “The Tonight Show” impersonating Edwards.

King has been a stand-up comedian for 21 years.

Four years ago, his Doppelgänger from his home state did King a big favor when he threw himself into the presidential race. It was then, in 2004, when the Langley man decided to jump in, too — face first.

King invested about $5,000 for a fake latex chin made for him by a Hollywood make-up artist, “politician outfits” and promotional material and transformed himself into Edwards.

“We had only 90 days between him being picked for vice president and the election,” King recalled.

With the Bush/Cheney ticket defeating the Kerry/Edwards camp in the election, however, King’s routine on Edwards went into storage along with the fake chin, clothes and promo material — only to reemerge just after Christmas last year, after Edwards announced his second run for president.

Unfortunately for the Whidbey funnyman, it happened during a big news week. Former President Gerald Ford and singer James Brown both died, and Saddam Hussein was executed.

“It got lost in the shuffle,” King said.

Nonetheless, King once again began advertising his Edward’ schtick and his big break soon followed.

“I got a call from ‘The Tonight Show,’” King recalled.

King had applied nine times with other material over the years and was turned down. Nine times.

But producers for the show remembered him from the last election cycle and approached him. King will soon travel to California for auditions.

“When I do ‘The Tonight Show’ as Edwards, maybe I can actually come back as myself,” King said.

Perfecting his Edwards impersonation is serious business for the comedian.

“I practice his voice every day,” King said.

The Internet has given him unlimited material to work with. Websites such as YouTube.com, where people post streaming video, give King an endless supply of movies to study Edwards’ movement and gestures.

In fact, a video of Edwards combing his hair for minutes and minutes, fiddling with his locks while “I feel pretty” plays in the background, made the real politician one of the most watched YouTube videos in the weeks following his announcement to run and has since been watched more than 85,000 times on YouTube alone.

While things like the hair incident provide Edwards’ “twin” with material, a clean-cut, handsome politician without major scandals translates into hard work for a comedian, King said.

“He’s not like Bush. Bush does this turkey neck thing,” he said, bobbing his head like a nervous turkey at Thanksgiving.

“Bush also laughs at inappropriate times,” King said. “Edwards has no ticks.”

With Edwards being the number three Democratic candidate behind Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, chances are good that King will get to capitalize on his resemblance with Edwards for a while.

And if Edwards is elected, it could mean job security for King.

“Clinton and Obama are the front runners. I say let the other two beat each other up, then he can win,” King said.

King spends the majority of the year on the road, performing at conventions and cruises. In fact, one of those convention gigs was the catalyst for his move to Whidbey Island.

King and wife Wendy moved to Langley more than two years ago from Northern California, a place where his wife had been chased by a mountain lion and the fire threat was so severe they had to sleep with open windows and leave if they smelled smoke.

King talked about the mountain lion incident at a telecommunication conference. And when George Henny of Whidbey Telecom told him at the conference that there were no fires, no rattlesnakes and no mountain lions on Whidbey Island, the King family relocated to Langley shortly after.

But sharing the island with another comedian is tough. King joked that there is only enough work for one comedian on Whidbey Island.

“Jim Freeman gets all the work,” he said.

Despite constant travel, King doesn’t work the comedy club circuit as much anymore, despite the popularity of such venues.

“The audiences are younger, 20, 22. The only thing we have in common is an unpaid student loan,” King said.

With two decades in the business, he realizes comedians don’t stick with it if they don’t love it.

“Comedy is too hard not to enjoy it,” King said.

Sleepless nights worrying about material, advertising and paying the bills also come with the territory. But he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I realized in fourth grade that I am a comedian. I told a joke and everybody laughed,” he said.

In high school his quick wit got him in trouble a view times.

“Mighty big mouth, Mr. King,” King mimicked his former teachers. “Very funny, Mr. King. You think it’s gonna make you some money, Mr. King.”

“What I got in trouble for in school, I get paid for now,” King said.

King isn’t alone on the counterfeit campaign trail. For some, it’s lucrative.

Successful George W. Bush impersonators make upwards of $10,000 a gig. There are many Hillary Clinton look-alikes working the convention circuit, and Al Gore and Bill Clinton look-alikes are popular as ever.

With that in mind, King is in it for the long haul as a comedian.

“Edwards is still young,” he said with a grin.

Based on Hillary Clinton’s campaign slogan “In it to win it,” has King has come up with one for himself and his Edwards routine.

“In it to twin it,” King said.

Michaela Marx Wheatley can be reached at 221-5300 or mmarxwheatley@southwhidbeyrecord.com.