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Dodd says no, keeps field in single digits

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With Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) announcing yesterday that he would not seek the Democratic nomination for president, the field remains at nine, at least for the immediate future.

The announcement, however, led one of Carpetbagger’s loyal readers to send an email inquiring if the 2004 field of Dems is the largest group ever. As I see it, if one of my four readers sends an email question, then at least 25% of my audience wants that question answered!

The answer is no, this is not yet the largest group of candidates, but it is tied for the largest.

In 1976, nine Democrats sought the Democratic nomination. In alphabetical order: Birch Bayh, Jerry Brown, Jimmy Carter, Frank Church, Fred Harris, Henry Jackson, R. Sargent Shriver, Morris Udall, George Wallace.

It hasn’t been at all unusual in recent memory to have as many as seven candidates in either party’s field. The Dems had seven in 1984, the GOP had seven in 1996 and again in 2000.

The 2004 race for the Dems, however, may reach double digits soon. Dodd didn’t jump in, but three potential candidates continue to flirt with the idea: Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.), former Sen. Gary Hart (D-Colo.), and Ret. Gen. Wesley Clark (though, if I were a betting man, I’d put money on none of these three joining the race).

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the 2004 field of Dems, even if no one else jumps in, includes an impressive group of legitimate candidates. The longest serving Democratic governor in the country is in (Dean), as are four of the party’s top Senators (Kerry, Edwards, Lieberman, and Graham), a former Senator and ambassador (Mosley Braun), and the party’s top House lawmaker (Gephardt). The group contrasts nicely with the seven Republicans who sought the 2000 GOP nomination, four of whom (Forbes, Keyes, Bauer, and Dole) had never held elected office at any level. For that matter, the Democratic candidates’ experience in government also contrasts well with the man they’re seeking to replace — five of the nine Dems running have more experience in elected office than Bush.