Democrats Vie for Party Chair

Former presidential candidate Howard Dean -- without a public office but with a cadre of enthusiastic supporters and lingering presidential ambitions -- has emerged as the highest-profile Democrat to seriously consider running for the party's soon-to-be-open national chair.

Dean, the former governor of Vermont who juiced up party activists last year by taking an uncompromising stance against the Iraq war, is among several Democrats who have begun to survey the more than 400 members of the party's national committee who will choose its next leader.

Terry McAuliffe, the current party chairman, has yet to officially call an election, but it is widely anticipated that the vote will happen in early February at the party's winter meeting.

Another prominent Democrat who has expressed an interest in the job is Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack. His allies worry that a Dean chairmanship would damage the party's ability to project a more acceptable image to skeptical independent voters.

Others say Dean's candidacy might harness the energy of Democrats to expand their base of support and to steadily add new and younger voters to its rolls.

Dean declined to comment on a potential bid today. Thousands of of e-mail petitions from Dean supporters encouraging him to run have been sent to his political organization's headquarters in Burlington, Vt., and Laura Gross, his spokeswoman, would only say that he was listening to what Democrats of all stripes have to say.

Internal Challenges

McAullife, an ally of Bill and Hillary Clinton heralded for his fund-raising prowess and efforts to expand the party's data collection and voter lists, is stepping down after a four-year term. Whoever emerges as his successor will confront serious challenges. The party does not control a single branch of government, and Democrats say their choice of a new party leader should reflect the direction Democrats want to take in the next 3½ years before choosing their 2008 presidential nominee, who would then become the standard-bearer. Democrats say the party needs an effective and credible spokesperson for their message and issues.

If John Kerry, the 2004 nominee, decides to mount a bid for DNC chairman himself, he would be in a strong position to win. But Kerry aides say that is unlikely. The Massachusetts senator is more likely to position himself to endorse the candidate he prefers.

Two party conferences in December will influence the chairmanship race: a meeting of Democratic governors in Washington and an annual gathering of state party chairs in Orlando, Fla. Democratic Party of Michigan executive Mark Brewer, who heads the association of state Democratic Party chairs, has asked his colleagues to hold off endorsing candidates until that meeting.