Democrats Elect Dean as Committee ChairmanBy

ANNE E. KORNBLUT

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 - Howard Dean, once a grass-roots outsider, rode to an easy victory on Saturday to become the chairman of the Democratic National Committee with support from hundreds of party insiders and operatives he carefully cultivated during an uphill, two-month campaign.

"If you'd told me a year ago I'd be standing here doing this as your choice for chairman of the Democratic National Committee, I would not have believed you, and neither would have a lot of other people," Dr. Dean told a cheering Democratic crowd in Washington. He was elected by a voice vote without any opposition shortly before noon.

In his first speech as head of the party and at a later news conference, Dr. Dean presented his vision of a Democratic return to power, accusing Republicans of "fiscal recklessness" and stressing the successes Democrats have had in balancing budgets. Leaving aside some of his more controversial liberal social views, he portrayed Democrats as the party most committed to national security and barely mentioned the Iraq war, which he opposed.

He criticized President Bush's budget, saying that it "brings Enron-style accounting to the nation's capital, and it demonstrates once again what Americans, all Americans, are now beginning to see: you cannot trust Republicans with your money."

Dr. Dean continued, "Democrats believe in fiscal responsibility and we are the ones who have delivered it." Twice in the address, Dr. Dean, the former Vermont governor who built his presidential campaign around a progressive message but has since shifted his emphasis back to the middle, said that "Republicans stop progress, Democrats start progress."

He assumes charge of a party that a year ago rejected him as its presidential candidate but that has since rallied behind him as a forceful voice and formidable organizer. Heading into dozens of tough elections in the coming years, Dr. Dean has sold himself as the inspirational cure for a party demoralized by two consecutive cycles of defeat in Congress and the White House.

Beyond becoming the public face of the Democratic Party, Dr. Dean faces important tests of his technical political skill, starting with gubernatorial races this year in Virginia and New Jersey and scores of Senate and House campaigns next year.

Already, candidates and campaign consultants from across the country are calculating the impact of Dr. Dean's rise, angling for Democratic National Committee financial backing, but also considering the impact of having a firebrand whistle-stopper from Vermont as their chief ally during a time of deep polarization.

"I need all the help I can get," said Chet Culver, the Democratic secretary of state in Iowa and a likely contender for governor in 2006. Mr. Culver said he would welcome assistance from Dr. Dean but quickly added that he would just as soon encourage help from Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democrats' presidential candidate in 2004, or his running mate, former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina.

"Our tent is very broad," Mr. Culver said. "I think he is going to help us bring the party together, to get everyone to the table."

Although there has been widespread praise for the fund-raising prowess of Terry McAuliffe, the departing committee chairman, it is unclear how much money will actually be left as Dr. Dean takes over.

The committee has raised $13 million since last November, said the committee spokesman, Jano Cabrera. That amount includes a $1 million gift last week that Mr. Kerry donated from his presidential campaign.

But in his parting hours as chairman, Mr. McAuliffe pledged to give a good part of the cash away: $5 million to the Democratic Party in Virginia, where there will be an open seat when Gov. Mark Warner, a Democrat, leaves at the end of his term-limited tenure next year; and $1 million apiece to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Party in New York, where there are competitive mayoral and gubernatorial races in the next two years.