Who will run the Democratic Party?

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:52:33 -0500

Who will replace Jerry Meek?

With all the speculation about who will be in Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue's Cabinet, who might run for U.S. Senate in 2010 and who will run the state GOP, you'd think the chattering classes would be content.

But of late they've also been guessing at who might run for chair of the N.C. Democratic Party.

Some of the early names to surface are David Parker, a Statesville attorney and presidential superdelegate who's reportedly long been interested in the job; and state Rep. Grier Martin, who is reportedly not interested.

Meek, who has run the party since 2004, is leaving to work for a law firm. His successor will be chosen at a meeting of the state Democratic Executive Committee on Jan. 31.

Although the party chair has typically been chosen by the governor, Meek won the job without Gov. Mike Easley's imprimatur. The major question is whether his successor will be another member of the grassroots, or someone who has worked with Perdue and party leaders before.

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Who will run the Democratic Party?