WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The John Edwards presidential campaign evacuated its Chapel Hill, North Carolina, headquarters Wednesday after receiving a letter containing a white powder.

Edwards Deputy Campaign Manager Jonathan Prince released the following statement regarding the incident:

"We received a letter this afternoon at our Chapel Hill headquarters which was opened by a member of our staff and contained a white powder. The health and safety of our staff and volunteers is obviously our paramount concern, so we contacted the authorities. The authorities have asked us to evacuate while they run tests on the substance, and we have done so. Our staff continues to be connected and working from home and the campaign continues to operate at full speed. We will pass along more information when we receive it."

The former Democratic vice presidential nominee was in Washington D.C. Wednesday attending campaign events.