The DNC

[RPankn]

[Moses]

Dean's final rival bows out of race

February 8, 2005

By Louis Porter Vermont Press Bureau

MONTPELIER — Howard Dean apparently will be the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

The last of Dean's six opponents for the job, Tim Roemer, dropped out of the running Monday.

Dean, a former Vermont governor, will not say anything about the race publicly until the Democrats have their winter meeting in Washington, D.C., this week to formally select a leader, a Dean spokeswoman said.

"Gov. Dean did secure enough votes as of Friday, so he was going to be the clear winner anyway," said Laura Gross, who works for Dean's Democracy for America organization in its Burlington office.
However, Dean was still calling members of the Democratic National Committee Monday after Roemer dropped out, Gross said.

"He definitely has a majority of votes and we are confident he is going to be the next DNC chair, but he is still trying to build more of a consensus," she said.

Late last week Gov. James Douglas, a Republican, said that if Dean becomes head of the Democratic Party nationally it may or may not make a major difference in Vermont elections.
It will depend "on whether he focuses on Vermont" in future years, Douglas said.

Dean decided to run to replace former DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe after dropping out of the race to become the Democratic nominee for president last year.

Dean has said he hopes to use what he learned about fund raising and organizing in that campaign to strengthen the Democratic Party nationally.

Roemer [Pelosi and Reid's candidate] had only a handful of pledges from Democratic National Committee members by late last week. Roemer, who opposes abortions except in cases of rape or when the mother's health is at risk, found himself at odds with many in his party over the issue.

Roemer said the Democratic Party has failed to reach out to voters in the fastest growing parts of the country, and must do so.
Roemer, a former congressman from Indiana and a member of the committee investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, also said he wanted to strengthen the Democrats' position on national defense.

"If there's one reason Senator Kerry lost the presidential race, it was because he failed to make American people feel safer," Roemer said.

[Let's hope his defeat will bury that bogus bull]

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The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Louis Porter can be reached at [e-mail].