Dean's manager sees Illinois as key | Chicago Sun-Times

Dean's manager sees Illinois as key

August 12, 2003

BY SCOTT FORNEK Political Reporter Advertisement

Howard Dean went from a team of seven paid staffers and less than $157,000 in the bank at the beginning of the year to raise more than $10.2 million, build an organization of 285,000 volunteers and find his face on the covers of both Time and Newsweek.

But don't call the former Vermont governor the front-runner in the Democratic presidential race.

"We still consider ourselves an insurgent, " said Joe Trippi, the former Evanston resident who is Dean's campaign manager. "In fact, we're the strongest insurgent in the history of the party."

Trippi was in town last week for the AFL-CIO Democratic presidential forum at Navy Pier and meetings with supporters. Illinois' March 16 primary is late in the delegate selection process, but Trippi said the state will be a crucial base for fund-raising and mobilizing volunteers to work in neighboring Iowa before its Jan. 19 caucuses.

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The last bastion of sanity and Democracy in the US. Plus we have the Cubs and Sox.

Man, am I glad I live here! (And I just may spend some time in beautiful Iowa this January)

I'll be working hard in Connecticut, my current state of residence, to win it for Dean in the primary. I'll also help out in New Hampshire.

While it can't be taken for granted, I just can't see Illinois going R in the general. If we have to spend money in IL to defend it (instead of spending it in red and marginally blue states), we may be in trouble...

Illinois is in the bag for the Dems...but we can do a lot of work in Wisconsin, Iowa and Missouri.