Of the many names still in the mix for who will succeed Terry McAuliffe as chair of the Democratic National Committee, the one name no one expected to see has suddenly become the center of significant attention: Terry McAuliffe.
Top Democrats are working to convince current Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe to remain in his post for at least another 12 months as the party prepares for the 2006 midterm elections.
McAuliffe is due to give up the job five weeks from now, when his four-year term expires, at the DNC’s winter meeting in Washington. Those Democrats trying to convince him to stay on the job fear the large crop of candidates for chairman has failed to inspire the 447 voting members of the national committee.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is aware of the efforts to convince McAuliffe to stay, Democratic sources said, and has not put the kibosh on the idea. Some Democrats said Reid had tacitly encouraged the scenario if no front-runner emerged soon.
McAuliffe has plenty of party critics, but I’m not one of them. To be sure, we could do worse than having him stay on.
Nevertheless, he doesn’t seem keen on the idea.
Democratic Party spokesman Jano Cabrera said, “The chairman appreciates being asked to stay, but for now he remains focused on handing over a modernized, mobilized and debt-free Democratic Party.”
Cabrera told ABC’s online newsletter The Note that McAuliffe’s “only response for now consists of two words, Dorothy McAuliffe” — referring to the chairman’s wife.
The establishment may not be enamored with the current batch of would-be chairpersons, but it appears that one of them will be elected in about a month. Time to pick one of them.