Democratic National Committee

President-elect Barack Obama has selected Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine as the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee, two Democrats said Sunday. The officials spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the decision had not been officially announced. The Washington Post reported the selection Sunday on its website. Kaine plans to work for the party part time until 2010, when his term as governor is up and he can take over full time. Chairman Howard Dean plans to step down Jan. 21. Kaine campaigned vigorously for Obama in Virginia.

State Sen. R. Creigh Deeds won the Democratic primary for governor, defeating a better-financed Clinton White House insider and a third candidate. Deeds took nearly 50% of the vote to 26% for Terry McAuliffe and nearly 24% for Brian Moran, unofficial totals showed. The victory sets up a Deeds rematch this fall with Republican Bob McDonnell, who beat him in the state's 2005 attorney general election by 323 votes. McAuliffe's political connections from his days as chief fundraiser for Bill Clinton and chairman of the Democratic National Committee helped him dominate media coverage and amass nearly twice as much in contributions as Deeds' $3.7 million.

The front-loaded schedule of the 2008 presidential primary season was widely expected to be a disaster. We were among those who argued that holding so many contests so early in the year would give well-funded national candidates an edge and reduce the chances of a truly competitive race in which a lesser-known candidate could prevail over time. We're pleased to see that it's not looking so bad after all.

The Democratic Party approved Puerto Rico's proposal to scrap its caucus and hold a presidential primary June 1. A primary will give more voters a chance to take part in the nominating process, said Puerto Rico Democratic Chairman Roberto Prats. He said caucuses were fine in previous years, when the party nominee was settled by the time Puerto Rico voted and the only task was to choose delegates to the national convention. "Now it's different," Prats told the Democratic National Committee's rules panel.

Put yourself into the mind and mood of an uncommitted Democratic superdelegate. You are getting inducements and pressure from both the Clinton and Obama campaigns -- including direct appeals from the candidates themselves that range from the intellectual ("I will be the better candidate in the fall") to the seductive ("You will be a player in my administration") to the vindictive ("Get on the train now or there won't be a seat for you later"). But you are also juggling a set of other intense pressures: Who did your state or district support, and would you erode your own standing if you went the other way?

The hotel where the 30 Democratic rule makers met Saturday -- to decide whether rules are rules or whether rules are made to be broken -- was within howling distance of the National Zoo. Outside the stately Marriott Wardman Park Hotel were clusters of women with "Hear Me Roar" placards in their fists who came from all over the country -- $4 a gallon be damned -- to make what could be a last stand for their Hillary.

Re "Half-votes not enough for Clinton," June 1 When Michigan and Florida moved up their primary dates, they knew that they risked having their delegates not seated at the Democratic convention. When the Democratic National Committee declared these primaries would not be considered valid because they violated party rules, the candidates agreed not to campaign for those primaries, but Hillary Rodham Clinton attended fundraisers in Florida just before that state's primary. All of the major candidates except Clinton withdrew their names from the Michigan ballot, but she still barely mustered a majority, with 40% voting "uncommitted."

Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee revved up their money machine in June, outpacing their Republican rivals by almost $25 million, the Democratic presidential candidate's campaign said Thursday. Obama and the party have also all but caught up to Republican standard-bearer John McCain and the Republican National Committee in the amount they have available to spend. McCain and the RNC had about $95 million in the bank at the end of June, while Obama and the DNC had about $92 million.

Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee are setting aside $20 million to mobilize Latino voters in the presidential election, the Obama campaign said. They plan to spend the money in all 50 states but will emphasize swing states such as Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Florida, the campaign said.

The Democratic National Committee on Thursday announced it would hold its 2008 convention in Denver to showcase the party's expansion into the once reliably Republican terrain of the Rocky Mountain West. DNC Chairman Howard Dean said that symbolism pushed Denver's bid ahead of its competition, perennial convention candidate New York. "It's fitting that the next president of the United States will be nominated in Denver," Dean said in a conference call.