Stories related to: Howard Dean

With the nomination race tied up, eyes are turning to Florida and Michigan’s delegates, and top Democrats are mixing it up over funding for a primary re-do, the Hill reports. US Sen. Bill Nelson, a Hillary Clinton supporter, has urged the DNC to accept the results or pony up $20 million, warning that denying the delegates will be the “biggest train wreck you’ve ever seen.” More »

The Democratic candidates may be flush with money, but their party isn't. The GOP has a nearly 7-to-1 advantage in cash on hand, the New York Times reports. Democrats hope to make up the gap once they settle on a nominee, but the GOP already has begun plotting with John McCain on how to best use the advantage. Republicans raised $97 million last year and have $25 million left; Dems raised $60.5 and have $3.7 million left. More »

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's race to capture every pledged delegate has revived a contentious issue: what to do with the disqualified delegates from Michigan and Florida. Both campaigns, state leaders, and party elders all agree that something must be done. But the party is at an impasse over how to proceed, not least over who would foot an $18 million bill for a do-over, writes the New York Times . More »

Do-over Democratic primary votes in Michigan and Florida are looking likelier with the support of key political players, the AP reports. The governors of both states—a Clinton-backing Democrat in Michigan and a Republican in Florida—have issued a joint statement calling for their states' delegates to be seated at the national convention.  Campaigns for both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama seem open to the idea. Clinton won both primaries, but neither candidate campaigned and Obama wasn't even on the Michigan ballot. More »

Despite big wins yesterday, Hillary Clinton still needs a secret weapon to make up her delegate deficit and, Walter Shapiro writes in Salon , her strategy might have been presaged in Ohio by Gov. Ted Strickland urging, “Let’s go to Michigan and Florida." Do-over votes in those states, whose primaries weren't recognized by the Democratic Party for violating scheduling rules, could be her next push. More »

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist wants to redo his state’s Democratic primary, and DNC chair Howard Dean is “very willing to listen to the people of Florida.” Crist, a Republican, isn't committing any funding, however, and officials have said the state won’t pay for a $4 million caucus or a more expensive primary, the Orlando Sentinel reports. More »

Top Democrats are urging Hillary Clinton to quit if she can’t score big in Tuesday’s primaries, the New York Times reports. Senators John Kerry and Dick Durbin, both Obama backers, and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson pressed her today to consider party unity if she loses in Texas and Ohio. “I just think that D-Day is Tuesday,” Richardson said on “Face the Nation." More »

The Democratic National Committee will file an FEC complaint today against John McCain, accusing the likely GOP nominee of violating policy when he obtained campaign loans by promising to repay them with federal funds, the Washington Post reports. The FEC so far hasn't granted McCain's request to now opt out of the public matching funds system. More »

The Howard Dean who once shocked Washington is now a model of docility, “unwilling or afraid to confront the establishment that was once so afraid of him," the New Republic ’s Eve Fairbanks argues. The Democratic National Committee chair is also the wrong man for a bitter primary season, refusing to intervene when the party needs a strong hand. More »

Candidates have spent loads of time and money learning a disappointing truth: you can’t control the Internet. Successful web campaigners like Howard Dean and Ron Paul give the reigns to eager online fans, letting their netroots define them, not vice-versa. That’s a welcome change, says the New York Times’ Matt Bai, from a soul-crushing era of strategic politics. More »

Pat Robertson’s endorsement will undoubtedly help Rudy Giuliani snag conservative votes, but the televangelist's nod can only do so much to help the pro-choice divorcé, writes Salon ’s Walter Shapiro—and Rudy may be satisfied with that. The aging evangelical has granted permission for those already attracted to Rudy to set aside abortion or gay-rights doubts and vote Giuliani. More »

Small donations have a crucial role in the presidential race, and could give the eventual Democratic nominee a serious advantage, Politico reports. So-called baby bundlers—those who convince others to give, on a small scale—are leading the surge; Barack Obama's campaign, whose 75,000 new third-quarter donors match the GOP’s entire base in the year’s first half, is on the cutting edge. More »

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama joined three of their presidential rivals yesterday in pledging not to campaign in states that have defied Democratic primary rules by pushing their primaries to early 2008. In recent weeks, Michigan and Florida have announced votes before February 5, challenging the first dibs the party has reserved for Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada. More »

A pugnacious Democratic National Committee is taking direct aim at Florida today, scheduling a vote on whether the state should be punished for pushing its primary up to Jan. 29,  the Washington Post reports. Party rules prohibit any primary before Feb. 5; the penalty would be barring Florida delegates to the party's '08 convention in Denver. More »

John McCain’s candidacy may be getting dragged through the mud lately, but the presidential hopeful might have an ace up his electoral sleeve—New Hampshire. The Granite State has a history of rescuing listless frontrunners, the Boston Globe reports, and the straight talker understands the state’s importance better than anyone. More »

Amid chatter about Democratic candidates wooing the religious vote, Howard Dean has quietly used his DNC pulpit to build grassroots and national values outreach programs. The Hill reports that Dean—once so spiritually lost as to say “my religion doesn’t inform my public policy”—was born again after partnering with a DNC higher-up who doubles as a Pentecostal minister. More »