Dems Get Early Start On 2004

Democratic officials will nominate Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico, to be chairman of the party's 2004 national convention, several Democrats said Sunday.

Alice Huffman, president of the California NAACP, will be nominated to head the convention committee.

The plan to nominate Richardson as convention chairman was mentioned in published reports Sunday. Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe planned to announce the decision Monday in Boston.

The choice of Richardson, the highest-ranking elected Hispanic official in the country, responds to demands from the Hispanic caucus of the Democratic National Committee.

"Governor Richardson is honored to have been chosen," Richardson spokesman Billy Sparks said Sunday. "It's a positive sign for the future of the Democratic Party and a strong symbol of commitment to the West and to Hispanics."

Sparks said the governor "feels that it's a great plus for New Mexico, to put the state on the national stage."

New Mexico has a prominent place in the primary calendar in 2004, holding a Democratic caucus on Feb. 3, when several states have contests just a week after the New Hampshire primary. Traditionally, the convention chairman would be named in the weeks before the convention, set for Boston in late July 2004. And the party's nominee would have input on that decision.

Democrats are under increased pressure to pay attention to Hispanic supporters however, because Republicans are making a determined push to carve away at a fast-growing minority group believed to be up for grabs this cycle.

Huffman's nomination could address concerns from black Democrats that they are being taken for granted by the party.