Vermont Governor and former presidential hopeful Howard Dean is expected to be elected Democratic National Committee Chair in Saturday’s election.
As a result of Dean’s loss of the Democratic party’s presidential nomination last fall, Dean supporters showed excitement, and an outpouring of encouragement when he decided to run for DNC Chair.
So much, in fact, that both of the other contenders for the position, Tim Roemer of the 9/11 Commission and Activist Simon Rosenberg, withdrew from the race and endorsed Dean to succeed Terry McAuliffe.
Local democrats have been supportive of Dean’s bid for chair. The Florida Democratic Party has even officially endorsed him.
In a statement released Jan. 18, FDP Chairman Scott Maddox said, “Chairman McAuliffe left the DNC in great financial shape. What we need right now is energy, enthusiasm and a willingness to do things differently. I think Howard Dean brings all three of those things to the party.”
Self proclaimed “Dean-iac” and FAMU College Democrats President Tamia Booker is also in full support of Dean for chairman.
“Dean is highly favored by democrats. I like the fact that he has his platform together,” Booker said.
Dean made a speech Wednesday in Washington promising to return the democrats to power in the capitol as well as the White House.
Booker, a senior political science student from Philadelphia, said she believes Dean has the power to accomplish this.
“I believe he is one of the best candidates because he can energize and organize a party,” Booker said.
Maddox also said Dean has what it takes to lead the party.
“Governor Dean understands how valuable the individual states are in order to win a national race,” Maddox said. “He knows you have to have strong state parties and strong state elected leaders in order to deliver a strong ground game on Election Day.”
Also in support of Dean’s DNC agenda is former rival Sen. John Kerry. Kerry will donate $1 million to the DNC for a campaign to support party building at the state level.
Booker also said Dean’s past agenda will also be a factor in Saturday’s voting.
“As far as his agenda when he ran for president with him being a doctor one of his biggest issues was healthcare reform. He was upfront about that when I heard him speak,” she said.
Even current democratic leaders are backing Dean, according to the CNN/ USA Today /Gallup Poll of democratic leaders on Thursday. A large number of the leaders said they believe Dean would do a good job in the position.
If elected, Dean’s plan of action will be to rally democrats in individual counties and work their way up through to state legislatures to get more democrats elected in Congress by 2006. This strategic positioning is planned so the democrats can gain control of the House and be in good position to win the presidential election of 2008.
The vote of confidence from the democrats might aid Dean in his campaign over the next four years. Some citizens feel that Dean’s eminent election may be one step in the right direction for America.
“He will handle a lot of issues that have been overlooked by both democrats and republicans,” Booker said.
contact Robbyn Mitchell at thefamuanme@hotmail.com