Ex-Lawmaker From Texas Quits Bid to Lead Democrats

Former Texas representative Martin Frost dropped out of the race for chairman of the Democratic National Committee yesterday after failing to win the endorsement of the AFL-CIO's political committee, removing another potential obstacle from the path of former Vermont governor Howard Dean to become party leader.

Frost did not endorse Dean but said in a statement: "I have also called Governor Dean and congratulated him for running a strong campaign. The challenge ahead for Governor Dean will be to unite the party, rebuild the DNC and win elections in every region of the country."

Frost had pressed labor unions to back his DNC candidacy in the hope he would become the principal alternative to Dean. His campaign suffered a setback Monday when he finished a distant third behind Dean and party strategist Donnie Fowler in a vote of state party leaders.

Gerald W. McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and chairman of the AFL-CIO political committee, said there was no consensus for an endorsement, adding he doubts anyone now can stop Dean. "I think it's over," he said.

McEntee said, however, that, if elected when the DNC meets on Feb. 12, Dean has "got to remind himself, in terms of discipline, that he is the national chair of the party and there are other people in the party that should speak on issues as opposed to the national chair."

Former Ohio Democratic chairman David J. Leland also quit the race yesterday, leaving Fowler, former Indiana representative Timothy J. Roemer and New Democrat Network founder Simon Rosenberg as Dean's remaining rivals.

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who had encouraged others to get into the race, said they are prepared to work with Dean if he becomes chairman.

Asked about a comment Dean made last weekend indicating that, as chairman, he would feel free to pressure congressional Democrats if he thought they were straying from party orthodoxy on core issues, Reid said, "I don't think the chair of the DNC should be prohibited in any way from commenting on things that we do."