Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean has withdrawn his name as a candidate for chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
The former Democratic presidential candidate made the announcement Friday afternoon in a video address to the Association of State Democratic Chairs.
Dean chaired the committee from 2005 to 2009 and tweeted on Nov. 10 that he would run for the leadership position again. His four-week candidacy concluded with a call for liberals and progressives to unify against Republicans.
“We cannot allow this to be a proxy fight between Bernie Sanders’ people and Hillary Clinton’s people,” Dean said from the Denver taping, emphasizing the party needs to focus on winning back governor races in two years.
Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison, New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Raymond Buckley and South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Jaime Harrison are still vying for the chair.
Dean told MSNBC on Wednesday that his generation shouldn’t be “in the forefront anymore” when it comes to taking on leadership roles within the Democratic party.
“We need somebody from the next generation to be in charge of everything. Not just on the Democratic side but Republican side to empower this very generation that we’re talking about,” he said shortly before House Democrats held their leadership elections this week.
Gabby Morrongiello contributed to this report
