Inside Politics: Front-runner DeanBy Greg Pierce
Published January 17th 2005 in Washington Times
Former presidential candidate Howard Dean appears to be the front-runner to become the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee, according to a survey of the DNC conducted by Hotline, the National Journal's daily briefing on politics.
"But before Deaniacs and anti-Deaniacs scream (in excitement/disgust/angst), the Vermonter appears to be facing a stiff challenge from [former Texas Rep.] Martin Frost, who has one of the larger home-state DNC delegations in his pocket. Even when combining first and second choices, Dean does not yet exceed 40 percent, while Frost is lingering just under 30 percent," Hotline said.
"Beyond Dean and Frost, no other candidate receives double-digit support," Hotline said, adding: "The candidate who fared the poorest in the survey is [former Indiana Rep.] Tim Roemer, who received almost three times more 'last choice' support than he did first/second choice support combined."
Hotline surveyed the entire DNC membership from Tuesday through Friday and received responses from 187 members, about 42 percent of the DNC membership.
Election Day '09 was a roller-coaster for election reformers. Instant runoff voting had a great night in Minnesota, where St. Paul voters chose to implement IRV for its city elections, and Minneapolis voters used IRV for the first time—with local media touting it as a big success. As the Star-Tribune noted in endorsing IRV for St. Paul, Tuesday’s elections give the Twin Cities a chance to show the whole state of Minnesota the benefits of adopting IRV. There were disappointments in Lowell and Pierce County too, but high-profile multi-candidate races in New Jersey and New York keep policymakers focused on ways to reform elections; the Baltimore Sun and Miami Herald were among many newspapers publishing commentary from FairVote board member and former presidential candidate John Anderson on how IRV can mitigate the problems of plurality elections.