The 2005 Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairmanship election was held on February 12, 2005, to elect a chairperson to the DNC for a four-year term.

Howard Dean Howard Brush Dean III (born November 17, 1948) is an American physician, author, lobbyist, and retired politician who served as the 79th governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003 and chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 2005 to 2009 ...

was elected as the DNC chair, succeeding

Terry McAuliffe Terence Richard McAuliffe (born February 9, 1957) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 72nd governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he was co-chairman of President Bill Clinton's 1996 ...

Race

Following the 2004 U.S. presidential election, some

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

insiders wanted

to remain DNC chair. The

netroots Netroots is a term coined in 2002 by Jerome Armstrong to describe political activism organized through blogs and other online media, including wikis and social network services. The word is a portmanteau of Internet and grassroots, reflecting t ...

pushed for a different leader who would move the party away from the large donors.

, a candidate for the Democratic Party nomination for president in 2004, announced his bid to become DNC chair on January 11. Other candidates to declare included Former

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Tim Roemer Timothy John Roemer (born October 30, 1956) is an American diplomat and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2003 as a Democrat from Indiana's 3rd congressional district. Subsequently, he was the preside ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, former

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic no ...

and

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

staffer Donnie Fowler,

Mayor of Denver This is a list of mayors of Denver, the capital and largest city of the state of Colorado. Mayors of Denver can serve three four-year terms.https://www.westword.com/news/denver-term-limit-mayor-colorado-voters-15109617 List References {{ ...

Wellington Webb Wellington E. Webb (born February 17, 1941) is an American politician. He served in the Colorado House of Representatives and was the first African American mayor of Denver, Colorado, serving from 1991 to 2003. Early life and career The Webb fam ...

New Democrat Network The New Democrat Network is an American think tank that promotes centrist candidates for the Democratic Party. NDN is a 501(c)(4) membership organization that functions in conjunction with its two subsidiary organizations, the NDN Political Fun ...

founder

Simon Rosenberg Simon Rosenberg (born October 23, 1963) is the founder of New Democrat Network and the New Policy Institute, a liberal think tank and advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. Background Rosenberg was born on October 23, 1963, in New York City ...

, Former U.S. Representative

Martin Frost Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, and

Ohio Democratic Party The Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Ohio. Summit County Council President Elizabeth Walters has been the party's chairwoman since January 2021. U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown is the top Oh ...

Chair David J. Leland.

Kate Michelman Kate Michelman (born August 4, 1942) is an American political activist. She is best known for her work in the United States abortion rights movement, particularly as a long-time president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. Career From 1985 to 2004, ...

almost ran due to Roemer's anti-abortion stance, but she opted not to run. Harold M. Ickes also considered running, but did not. Dean became the front-runner in the race, though Roemer received the endorsements of

Harry Reid Harry Mason Reid Jr. (; December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017. He led the Senate Democratic Caucus from 2005 to 2017 and was the Sena ...

and Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Party leaders in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

and

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, respectively. Though the executive committee of the Association of State Democratic Party chairs recommended an endorsement of Fowler, the group chose to endorse Dean on January 31. Webb dropped out and endorsed Dean. On February 1, Dean announced the endorsements of 53 more members of the DNC, increasing his total number of DNC supporters to 102. The

AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...

opted not to endorse a candidate. Meanwhile, the

Service Employees International Union Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is a labor union representing almost 1.9 million workers in over 100 occupations in the United States and Canada. SEIU is focused on organizing workers in three sectors: healthcare (over half of members ...

endorsed Dean. Without the support of the labor movement, Frost dropped out. Receiving little support, Leland dropped out as well. Rosenberg dropped out on February 4 and endorsed Dean. Fowler dropped out on February 5 and endorsed Dean. Roemer, Dean's last challenger, dropped out on February 7. Dean was elected by a voice vote on February 12.

References

{{Howard Dean 2005 elections in the United States Chairmanship election, 2005 Democratic Party (United States) leadership elections February 2005 events in the United States Democratic National Committee chairmanship election

Race

See also

References