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, consultant, 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 20 ...

was elected as the DNC chair, succeeding Terry McAuliffe.

Race

Following the

2004 U.S. presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 2, 2004. Incumbent Republican President George W. Bush and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Dick Cheney, were re-elected to a second term. They narrowly defeated ...

, some Democratic Party insiders wanted Terry McAuliffe to remain DNC chair. The netroots 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 Tim Roemer of

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, former

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

and

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

staffer Donnie Fowler, Mayor of Denver Wellington Webb, New Democrat Network founder Simon Rosenberg, Former U.S. Representative Martin Frost of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, and Ohio Democratic Party Chair David J. Leland. Kate Michelman almost ran due to Roemer's

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its Abortion by country, legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in r ...

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 and Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Party leaders in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

and

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, 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 a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...

opted not to endorse a candidate. Meanwhile, the Service Employees International Union 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 in the United States Democratic National Committee chairmanship election

Race

See also

References