It was a year ago this week when Howard Dean, going into a key race as the obvious frontrunner, saw his support plummet and campaign implode. With this in mind, I certainly won’t be bold as to say Dean is a shoe-in for DNC chair — but he’s certainly getting closer to nailing down the job.
Earlier this week, Dean picked up the support of the DNC’s sizable Florida delegation.
The Florida delegation to the Democratic National Committee has voted unanimously to endorse Howard Dean to be the party’s next chairman, bucking an effort to orchestrate an endorsement of one candidate by all 50 state party leaders at the same time later this month.
The decision, announced yesterday by Scott Maddox, the Florida Democratic chairman, is a major lift for Dr. Dean, a former governor of Vermont, and it is a shift in a contest where most Democrats have been holding back from endorsing any candidate in the crowded field.
As “red” states go, Florida is hardly a Republican stronghold, but it’s a delegate-rich state that offers Dean a major pre-vote victory and a sign that his support is not limited to traditional Dem states. Still, it’s not as if Dean could rally support in states like Mississippi, Utah, and Oklahoma, right? Wrong.
Howard Dean’s hard-charging race to head the Democratic National Committee is gaining early momentum that recalls the streaking start of his 2004 presidential campaign.
On Tuesday, the former Vermont governor announced he had the unanimous backing of the Florida delegation to the DNC and also the support of Democratic chairs in Mississippi, Utah, Oklahoma, Washington state and Vermont. He plans house parties around the nation later this week, like the ones he used while trying to gain the Democratic presidential nomination.
If Dean is picking up support from party leaders in Mississippi, Utah, and Oklahoma — probably the reddest of all red states — he’s in pretty good shape in terms of the overall race for the post.