The "Dean Dozen", in

American politics In the United States, politics functions within a framework of a constitutional federal republic, federal democratic republic with a presidential system. The three distinct branches Separation of powers, share powers: United States Congress, C ...

, was the collective term for six groups of 12 candidates endorsed by Democracy for America, the

political action committee In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The l ...

led by former Vermont governor and presidential candidate

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 ...

, in the 2004 elections. Those chosen to be in the Dean Dozens were Democrats. Governor Dean called the Dean Dozen "the progressive movement’s best chance at taking back Congress." Candidates Selected received significant promotion by progressive groups through emails, fundraisers, and speeches. Democracy for America also fundraisers for the candidates directly, using their membership of over a million citizens to seek contributions for candidates directly They came from across the U.S. and ran for widely varying positions, from county

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

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

. No incumbents were chosen, and members of Dean Dozens also tended to target key districts. Candidates in bold won. In the 2012 elections Governor Dean selected a new Dean Dozen to receive the endorsement of DFA.

List of Dean Dozens

First

*Mary Ann Andreas: 80th State Assembly District, California *Ken Campbell: Oconee County Representative, South Carolina State House * Maria Chappelle-Nadal: 72nd State House District, Missouri State House *Scott Clark, Mark Manoil and Nina Trasoff: Arizona Corporation Commission * Kim Hynes:

Connecticut State Representative The Connecticut House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an equal ...

*Richard Morrison:

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the 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 Article One of th ...

from

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 ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

State Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

and

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

Candidate from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

*Rob MacKenna: Supervisor of Elections in Hillsborough County,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

*Monica Palacios-Boyce: Massachusetts State Representative *

Lori Saldaña Lori R. Saldaña (born November 7, 1958) is an American politician who served as Speaker pro tempore of the California State Assembly from 2008 to 2010. A member of the Democratic Party, she served in the California State Assembly from 2004 to ...

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

* Jeff Smith: State Senator from

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

*Donna Red Wing: District 25, Colorado State House

Second

Kalyn Free Kalyn Cherie Free (born November 1963) is an American attorney, former elected district attorney, and a tribal citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Free represents Oklahoma as the National Committeeperson on the Democratic National Committe ...

United States Representative 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 ...

from

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

(Lost in primary) *

Tom Potter Thomas Jay Potter (born September 12, 1940) is an American politician and law enforcement officer in the U.S. state of Oregon. He served as Mayor of Portland from 2005 to 2009, and had been the chief of the Portland Police Bureau from 1987 to 19 ...

: Mayor of

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

* Alisha Thomas Morgan:

Georgia General Assembly The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directl ...

* Samara "Sam" Barend:

from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Peter Corroon Peter Maitland Corroon (born July 16, 1964) is an American politician, former Utah Democratic Party chair, and the former mayor of Salt Lake County, Utah. He was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for governor in the 2010 election. Corroon is a ...

: mayor of

Salt Lake County, Utah Salt Lake County is located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,185,238, making it the most populous county in Utah. Its county seat and largest city is Salt Lake City, the List of capitals in th ...

*Vicki Walker: Missouri State House * David Van Os:

Texas Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) is the court of last resort for civil matters (including juvenile delinquency cases, which are categorized as civil under the Texas Family Code) in the U.S. state of Texas. A different court, the Texas Court o ...

*Patrick McCormick: County Council for

DeKalb County, Illinois DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 100,420. Its county seat is Sycamore. DeKalb County is part of the Chicago–Naperville–Elgin, IL–IN–WI Metropolit ...

Jonathan Bing Jonathan L. Bing (born March 13, 1970) is an American attorney and politician. He was a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly from the 73rd district. Political career A resident of Manhattan's East Side for two decades, Bing was f ...

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

*Christine Cegelis:

from

*Don McDaniel:

*Nelson Thompson:

Board of Chosen Freeholders In New Jersey, a Board of County Commissioners (until 2020 named the Board of Chosen Freeholders) is the elected county-wide government board in each of the state's 21 counties. In the five counties that have an elected county executive, the ...

for

Cumberland County, New Jersey Cumberland County is a coastal county located on the Delaware Bay in the Southern Shore Region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 census, the county was the state's 16th-most-populous county,Tami Green Tami J. Green is an American politician of the Democratic Party. She is a former member of the Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along wi ...

: Washington State House of Representatives *Susan Clary: Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor of Orange County, Fl *Eddgra Fallin: School Board in Huntsville, Al. S *Missy Taylor: Kansas House of Representatives. *Judge William O'Neill: Supreme Court of Ohio. * Patti Fritz: Minnesota State House District 26B. *

Scott Kawasaki Scott Jiu Wo Kawasaki (born March 20, 1975) is an American healthcare professional and politician from Alaska. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, he is a member of the Alaska Senate representing the state's District P, which includes ...

: Alaska State House * Lois Herr: United States Congress from Pennsylvania. *James Whitaker: Michigan State House. *

Edward Ableser Edward Zachary Ableser (born March 16, 1978) is a Democratic politician. He served in the Arizona Senate, representing the 26th district. His district included parts of Mesa, Tempe, and south Scottsdale. Previously he was a member of the Ariz ...

: Arizona House of Representatives.

2012 Dean Dozen

* José M. Hernández (CA-10) *

Kathy Boockvar Kathryn Boockvar (, born October 23, 1968) is an American attorney and politician who served as the secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from January 5, 2019 to February 5, 2021. She was appointed to the position by Governor Tom Wolf. Bo ...

(PA-8) *

Carol Shea-Porter Carol Shea-Porter (born December 2, 1952) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who is the former member of the United States House of Representatives for . She held the seat from 2007 to 2011, 2013 to 2015, and 2017 to 20 ...

(NH-1) * Joe Miklosi (CO-6) *

Martin Heinrich Martin Trevor Heinrich ( ; born October 17, 1971) is an American businessman and politician serving as the senior United States senator from New Mexico, a seat he has held since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Heinrich served as the ...

(NM-Sen) *

Shelli Yoder Shelli Renee Yoder (born August 30, 1968) is an American politician serving in the Indiana Senate for Monroe County, Indiana from Senate District 40. A former Miss Indiana and a Miss America 1993 contestant, Yoder has held positions at a number ...

(IN-9) *

Annie Kuster Ann L. McLane Kuster (born September 5, 1956) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ...

(NH-02) * Raul Ruiz (CA-36) *

Manan Trivedi Manan Trivedi (born May 22, 1974) is an American physician, politician, Iraq War veteran and perennial candidate. He was the Democratic nominee for in the 2010, 2012 and 2014 elections, losing to his Republican opponents in each election. Ea ...

(PA-06) *

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren (née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A mem ...

(MA-Sen) *

Mazie Hirono Mazie Keiko Hirono (; Japanese name: , ; born November 3, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician serving since 2013 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Hawaii. A member of the ...

(HI-Sen) *

Tammy Baldwin Tammy Suzanne Green Baldwin (born February 11, 1962) is an American politician and lawyer serving since 2013 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Wisconsin. A member of the Democratic Party (United Stat ...

(WI-Sen)

Others

Other endorsed candidates include: * Paul Babbitt, candidate for U.S. representative from Arizona *

Jerry McNerney Gerald Mark McNerney ( ; born June 18, 1951) is an American businessman and politician who has served a member of the California State Senate from the 5th district since 2024. A member of the Democratic Party, his district includes all of San ...

and Jim Brandt, candidates for U.S. representative from California * Stan Matsunaka, candidate for U.S. representative from Colorado *

Jon Jennings Jon Paul Jennings (born October 2, 1962) is an American city manager, politician, and basketball coach. He formerly served as city manager of Portland, Maine, and Clearwater, Florida. He was also the founder, president, and general manager of the ...

and Melina Fox, candidates for U.S. representative from Indiana *

Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptised 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the field of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as the "father of economics"——— or ...

, candidate for U.S. representative from Kentucky *

Nancy Farmer Nancy Farmer (born 1941) is an American writer of children's literature, children's and young adult books and science fiction. She has written three Newbery Medal, Newbery Honor books and won the U.S. National Book Award for Young People's Liter ...

, candidate for U.S. senator from Missouri *

Brian Schweitzer Brian David Schweitzer (born September 4, 1955) is an American farmer and politician who served as the 23rd Governor of Montana from 2005 to 2013. Schweitzer served for a time as chair of the Western Governors Association as well as the Democr ...

, candidate for governor of Montana * John Lynch, candidate for governor of New Hampshire * Amy Vasquez, Anne Wolfe,

Herb Conaway Herbert Clark Hoover Conaway Jr. (born January 30, 1963) is an American politician, physician, and former Air Force officer currently serving as the U.S. representative from New Jersey's 3rd congressional district since 2025. A member of the D ...

, and Steve Brozak, candidates for U.S. representative from New Jersey * Richard Romero, candidate for U.S. representative from New Mexico * Patsy Keever, candidate for U.S. representative from North Carolina * Greg Harris and Jeff Seemann, candidates for U.S. representative from Ohio *

Joe Hoeffel Joseph Merrill Hoeffel III ( ; born September 3, 1950) is an American author and politician. A Democrat, Hoeffel was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2005, representing Pennsylvania's 13th congressional distr ...

, candidate for U.S. senator from Pennsylvania *

Peter Clavelle Peter A. Clavelle (born May 10, 1949) is an American politician who served as the 38th and 40th List of mayors of Burlington, Vermont, mayor of Burlington, Vermont, and was the first member of a Third party (United States), third party to hold t ...

, candidate for governor of Vermont *Al Weed and James Socas, candidates for U.S. representative from Virginia

References

{{Howard Dean Political terminology of the United States Howard Dean