Kaine to lead Democrats while still holding office

Washington: Virginia Governor Tim Kaine will become chairman of the Democratic National Committee later this month, serving as the top political messenger for Barack Obama's administration even while finishing his final year in the governor's mansion, several sources said.

Kaine, 50, who emerged as a finalist for the job of Obama's running mate last summer, will operate from Richmond in a part-time capacity until January 2010, when he will become the full-time DNC chairman. Kaine is constitutionally barred from running for reelection.

Kaine, a friend of the president-elect, is a gregarious chief executive who is known to relish political combat and helped put Virginia in the Democratic presidential election column for the first time in almost 50 years.

Obama transition officials declined to comment on Sunday, and aides to Kaine did not return calls seeking comment. Two sources said Obama will announce his choice of Kaine for the DNC post later this week.

The decision will make Kaine a regular face on Sunday-morning talk shows and cable news programmes during his final year in office. Obama plans to install a veteran operative to run the DNC's day-to-day operations, including fundraising. But it will be Kaine's job to defend Obama against the Republicans, who are struggling to find their voice after losing the White House and control of Congress.

Irresistible target

Taking the DNC job will make Kaine an irresistible target in his home state, where critics have long accused him of putting partisan politics ahead of governing. State GOP leaders are sure to accuse the governor of doing what he said he would not - shift his attention from the state during a budget crisis that demands swift action.

Also this year, Virginians will choose Kaine's successor in a race that has become contentious for Democrats. Former DNC chairman Terence McAuliffe, a longtime adviser to Bill and Hillary Clinton, announced in an internet video on Saturday that he intends to run for governor, pitting him against two Democratic state lawmakers in a June primary.

Kaine was thought to be a strong contender for a number of positions in Obama's Cabinet, including Attorney-General. But he removed himself from consideration by telling Obama that he intended to finish his four-year term.

Obama raised the idea of Kaine leading the Democratic Party before the election, sources said. Kaine rejected the initial overtures, telling reporters just after Obama's victory: "That's not something I'm going to do.

"I don't view that, frankly, as consistent with being governor, so I'm going to be governor," Kaine said at a Richmond news conference about the state's fin-ances.

"I would view it as taking my eye too much off the ball about things that need to happen here."

But sources said Obama returned to the idea late last month, pressuring Kaine to take the job.

Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service

Senate

Franken wins seat

Democrat Al Franken will be declared the winner of a tight US Senate contest in Minnesota, emerging from a ballot recount with a slim margin over Republican Norm Coleman, a state official said on Sunday.

Coleman, the incumbent, is expected to challenge the result in court, and could demand a second recount based on disputes over lost ballots, accusations of double-counting of votes, and the inclusion of some previously excluded absentee ballots in the recount.

"Franken is 225 votes ahead," after the final ballots were tabulated over the weekend," said John Aiken, a spokesman for Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie.

Franken is a well-known satirist who wrote for and starred on NBC's Saturday Night Live.

- Reuters