February 2, 2005

With Frost Out of Contention, State Chair
Soechting Backs Dean for DNC Position

Texas Democratic Party Chairman Charles Soechting has endorsed former Vermont Governor Howard Dean for national party chair in the wake of ex-U.S. Rep. Martin Frost's decision to withdraw from the race.

Soechting, who chastised the Democratic National Committee last year for giving Texas Democrats the cold shoulder, says his feelings about that haven't changed and that's one reason he's backing Dean for the party's top post. The state party leader said Dean had promised to implement a "50-state strategy" instead of the more recent approach of concentrating most of the party's resources on the so-called blue states and swing states.

"It's no secret I think we need a major shakeup at the Democratic National Committee," Soechting said in a letter to fellow DNC members. "For too long, the DNC has treated Texas like an ATM machine, raiding our most generous donors for millions of dollars while we struggle to remain competitive here in state and local races. We need to change this attitude in Washington."

Frost, who represented the Dallas area in Congress for two dozen years before losing to Republican U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions in November, took his name out of contention for DNC chair on Tuesday after coming up short in his bid to win organized labor's official support. A former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair, Frost was relying heavily on labor in his campaign for national chair. But the AFL-CIO decided Tuesday not to make an endorsement in the DNC chair's race.

Former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb also withdrew his name from the competition to replace outgoing DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe. Both Frost and Webb endorsed Dean in what has narrowed to a four-candidate race. Former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk had considered a race for national chair but dropped out of the competition in the early going.

Soechting made national headlines last year when he went public with a complaint that Texas Democratic leaders had been expressing in a more low-key fashion for years. While the DNC had made a habit of raising significant sums of money in Texas for spending in other states, the national party poured salt in the wounds when the Texas delegation to the Democratic National Convention in Boston was treated poorly compared to delegates from states where John Kerry had a better chance of beating President George W. Bush. Soechting, the state party chair since November 2003, issued the scathing assessment of the DNC after returning from the national convention. At the time he urged Texas donors to boycott the national fundraising efforts and contribute it to state level races instead.