6 More Votes for Dean
By Karl-Thomas Musselman
Blog for America reports today (in addition to Florida) 6 state party leaders from 5 more states have announced their support for Dean for DNC.
Florida: Chairman Scott Maddox, Vice-Chairwoman Diane Glasser
Mississippi: Chairman Wayne Dowdy
Oklahoma: Chairman Jay Parmley, Vice-Chairwoman Debbe Leftwich
Utah: Vice-Chairwoman Nancy Woodside
Washington: Chairman Paul Berendt
Vermont: Chairman Peter Mallary
So much for the Chair's Association giving a united endorsement. I went over the full list of DNC members by state and have noted them below for these states. It's no sure bet that fellow DNC members will follow their state chair, but this is the world of Party Politics we are talking about and they do have influence. These numbers do not reflect Members at Large and other positions, just the average State by State elected DNC members.
Florida: 11
Mississippi: 4
Oklahoma: 4
Utah: 4
Washington: 6
Vermont: 4
That is 33 possible total votes of which we know 17 officially have endorsed Dean. And here is the thing, these endorsements matter because these people actually vote and are closest to the other voting members. You can have as many Congresspeople and Governors as you like (and it doesn't hurt) but as far as direct impact, well, you get my drift.
Posted by Karl-Thomas Musselman at January 18, 2005 11:00 PM
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Actually, considering how soured a lot of Democrats are on the current elected leadership of the party, now may be one of those few times when endorsements from elected officials may actually be a setback for a candidate (witness the plunging candidacy of Tim Roemer).
I would say that the good folks from Mississippi, Florida and Oklahoma are cutting their own throats. I have lived in Virginia for some years. We won't be thanking the Democratic Party if it selects Dean. We will be Warner Democrats, praying that nobody succeeds in labeling us as Dean Democrats. I think that Dean represents his own constituency well. It certainly loves him. For their sake, I hope Dean runs for the Senate if Jeffords retires. Moreover, I have to believe that Dean supporters would be much happier seeing Dean run for President rather than have him preside over the DNC.
