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Vilsack focuses on 2006 governor races
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Candidate
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| Contributor | COSDem |
| Last Edited | COSDem Feb 27, 2005 03:12pm |
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| Category | General |
| Media | Newspaper - Des Moines Register |
| News Date | Sunday, February 27, 2005 09:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack is preparing to embark on a political mission next year that would test his influence outside Iowa and expand his reach as a Democrat with national ambition.
Vilsack wants to use the clout he has amassed as the Democrats' most senior governor to raise money and campaign for gubernatorial candidates in an attempt to topple the Republican Party's majority among the nation's governors.
He insists the 2006 strategy is not the early stage of a presidential bid in 2008, although the cadre of advisers Vilsack met with in Washington, D.C., Friday to discuss his plans includes consultants at the party's highest level.
Vilsack said helping Democrats win gubernatorial races in key states will yield policy reforms and political rewards that will ensure the party's long-term viability.
"I'm talking about 2006 and I'm serious about that," Vilsack said. "This is about electing Democratic governors. I think I've got that obligation."
He said he wants to do for talented candidates things that would have helped him in 1998 when he was trailing in the polls and struggling to raise money.
Vilsack's key advisers agree he is focused on 2006, but say a national political strategy makes sense for the little-known Midwestern governor who was a finalist to be presidential nominee John Kerry's running mate last year and harbors White House ambition.
He would also join a raft of potential 2008 presidential candidates who have formed federal political action committees to allow them to raise and contribute money around the country.
"I've never heard him say no to 2008. No one in his position would or should," said David Axelrod, a national Democratic media consultant who produced Vilsack's campaign ads. "But I think any sensible person views these things in stages and I think he's focused on 2006 right now."
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