Governor Howard Dean and Democracy for America Announce Dean's Dozen

Released: May 13, 2004 11:13 AM

BURLINGTON, VT - Today, Governor Howard Dean and his grassroots organization, Democracy for America, announced Dean's Dozen - twelve diverse candidates that represent the spirit of grassroots democracy.

"This year the race for the presidency is unbelievably important," Governor Dean said today. "But beside our efforts to evict George W. Bush from the White House, we must expand the base of the Democratic Party by competing in tough races across the country. The Dean Dozen represent some of the bravest candidates in the nation. Democracy for America is proud to support them."

Democracy for America is dedicated to using its resources to support candidates in their fight to take our country back from the right-wing conservatives who dominate our government. These will be tough races, and not everyone on the Dean Dozen may win. However, they will all spread the message that to change America, progressives must compete.

These twelve candidates will be followed by hundreds of additional candidates in the next few months.

No incumbents are on the initial Dean Dozen, though Democracy for America will be announcing its support of incumbent candidates soon.

The Dean's Dozen are:

Mary Ann Andreas for State Assembly in California. The 80th Assembly District has some of the highest unemployment rates in California. Jobs are Mary Ann's focus in her race against a Republican incumbent. www.andreasforassmebly.com

Ken Campbell for South Carolina State House. Oconee County has a chance to put a real community activist and small business owner to work with Ken Campbell. www.takebackoconee.com

Maria Chappelle-Nadal for Missouri State House. Maria has won the support of the grassroots in this race. Democracy for America is behind her in her campaign to take back the State House for Democrats. www.maria2004.com

Scott Clark, Mark Manoil & Nina Trasoff for the Arizona Corporation Commission. The Corporation Commission is a watchdog agency protecting consumers from fraud and corporate abuse. Clark, Manoil & Trasoff became politically active on the Dean campaign and are running as a ticket for the commission: corpcomm04@hotmail.com

Kim Hynes for State Representative in Connecticut. 28 Republican state representatives in Connecticut ran unopposed in the last election. Democracy for America is behind Kim Hynes and is looking for candidates to run for every seat: http://kimhynes.smartcampaigns.com

Richard Morrison for United States House of Representatives from Texas. Richard Morrison is running in the Texas 22nd Congressional District. Governor Dean will be in Houston to stand with the candidate who is hitting back at Tom "The Hammer" Delay: www.richardmorrisonfordistrict22.com

Barack Obama for United States Senate from Illinois. In the race to regain control of the U.S. Senate, Democrats have few better chances to pick up a seat than in Illinois. DFA volunteers all over Illinois helped Obama win his primary, now they are helping him win the general. Governor Dean will be on the trail with Barack soon. www.obamaforillinois.com

Rob MacKenna for Hillsborough County, Florida Supervisor of Elections. Rob is a computer systems expert and is using his campaign as a vehicle to promote youth participation, registration and voting in the all-important state of Florida. www.rob2004.com

Monica Palacios-Boyce for Massachusetts State Representative. Inspired by Governor Dean's race for the White House, Monica launched her campaign for state representative when she learned that the Republican incumbent had faced no opposition in his last two elections. www.monicaforstaterep.com

Lori Saldana for State Assembly in California. After an upset victory in the primary, grassroots activists want Lori to win in her race for the environment, education, economy and community of San Diego. www.lorisaldana.com

Jeff Smith for United States House of Representatives from Missouri. Campaigning in a 10-way primary for the opportunity to fill retiring Representative Richard Gephardt's seat in Congress, Jeff is an articulate young progressive running an energetic grassroots field campaign. www.jeffsmith2004.com

Donna Red Wing for Colorado House District #25. After serving as the GLBT Field Advisor for the Dean for America campaign, Donna has returned to the mountains of Colorado to mobilize progressive activists in communities across her district. www.donnaredwing.com

-- 30 --