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Former U.S. Rep. Tim Roemer, D-South Bend, says he will announce his decision on whether to run for the U.S. Senate "late next week."

Democrat Tim Roemer won a Congressional seat in a Republican state, Indiana. As a member of the 9/11 Commission, he had strong credentials on fighting terrorism. Yet his bid for the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee went nowhere, and for one reason: as a practicing Catholic, he opposes abortion in most cases. "It was a very difficult mountain to climb from the beginning, and people tried to hang a radioactive anvil around my neck on abortion," says Roemer. "They threw a couple of kitchen sinks and then some at us, with phone banks and mailings and efforts to derail...

Former U.S. Rep. Tim Roemer has dropped out of the 'race' for DNC Chair, leaving only Howard Dean...   click here for really large version This is an email-able, copyright-ready graphic you can use in emails, on blogs, in flyers, on posters... anything that's noncommercial.

WASHINGTON - Tim Roemer, the only remaining opponent of Howard Dean (news - web sites) in the race to be chairman of the Democratic National Committee (news - web sites), said Monday he's bowing out of the race — but he offered a warning to Democrats. Dean, the former presidential candidate and governor of Vermont, is expected to win the DNC chairmanship at the election Feb. 12. Roemer, a former congressman from Indiana and a member of the Sept. 11 commission, said Democrats must be more inclusive in their outreach to fast-growing parts of the country. "I got into this...

South Carolinian Donnie Fowler put it simply: “A Democratic Party without the South is a little bit like greens without the cornbread.” He made the comment at a meeting of party officials who gathered last weekend in Atlanta to grill candidates for the party’s highest position — chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Fowler, 37, a political consultant and son of a prominent South Carolina Democrat, is one of seven candidates seeking the job. “I did this out of frustration,” he said, after seeing the party commit the same mistakes of past defeats. Divided and battered by the second bitter...

ST. LOUIS, Missouri (CNN) -- The campaign for Democratic chairman turned contentious over the weekend when Tim Roemer lashed out at criticism of his views on abortion and accused opponents of negative campaigning. The candidate told a gathering in St. Louis that he wanted to have "a conversation" on issues but that he is "having trouble doing this because of negative campaigning and litmus tests." His voice rising, Roemer added, "I like a good fight. But don't put my arms behind me. Give me a chance to talk about my values. And don't litmus-test me." Roemer's comments came at the...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 - Howard Dean announced his candidacy for Democratic National Committee chairman declaring that the Democratic Party need not embrace Republican ideas to win back power. And when Timothy J. Roemer, the former Indiana congressman, joined the race, he said that Democrats had become too identified with abortion rights and had to strengthen their reputation on national security issues to appeal to moderate voters. But for all the talk about ideas and issues by symbols of two sides of the Democratic spectrum, the fight to lead the Democratic National Committee is increasingly being viewed by Democrats less as...

Tim Roemer was ABC News’ This Week with George Stephanopoulos this weekend. An interesting exchange: GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Finally the issue of abortion. You’ve said you’re pro-life and a lot of choice activists say that your record is against their interests and it’s been a record anti-choice and one final blogger, Kevin Drum of washingtonmonthly.com says, “You either believe in a right to choose or you don’t. I don't see how you can tap dance around a core principle like that.” Your response? TIM ROEMER: My response is when I was in Atlanta the past couple days and would talk about...

(CNSNews.com) - Having lost the last two presidential contests as well as important congressional seats in 2002, Democrats may be ready to seek a new national party leader with more appeal to the political center, a chairman with a decidedly pro-life voting record. But the decision by former U.S. Rep. Tim Roemer of Indiana to enter the race to succeed Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe could motivate one of the most pro-abortion candidates in the DNC's history - former NARAL Pro-Choice America President Kate Michelman -- to join the race. Roemer, who is Catholic and whose voting record...

The chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party said Monday that it would be "extremely foolish" for Democrats to chose someone who opposes abortion rights to lead the party. Phil Johnston (search), who heads the Democrats in losing presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry's home state, spoke out amid news of former Rep. Tim Roemer's (search) decision to seek the national party's chairmanship. "The fact that we lost the 2004 presidential race by a narrow margin should not result in the abandonment of our party's core principles," Johnston said.

WASHINGTON — Former Rep. Tim Roemer said Sunday that he's joining the race to lead the Democratic National Committee — a move certain to spark a heated debate about the abortion issue. Roemer, a Catholic from Indiana who opposes abortion, said said he respects the position of Democrats who favor abortion choice and have written it into their party platform. "I'm not asking to rewrite the platform," he said on ABC's "This Week." "We have a majority of our party, an overwhelming majority of our party, that is pro-choice, and I respect that. But I think we should not only...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former Rep. Tim Roemer said Sunday that he's joining the race to lead the Democratic National Committee -- a move certain to spark a heated debate about the abortion issue

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. (AP) - Seven candidates for chairman of the Democratic National Committee promised Saturday to address the concerns of Southern voters, saying they had learned the lessons of the past two elections. "You want to know my Southern strategy, show up," said Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor who dropped out of the presidential race during last year's Democratic primaries. Dean and the other candidates seeking to replace Terry McAuliffe as the face of the Democratic Party spoke before a Southern audience at the first of several regional caucuses to give Democratic Party officials a chance to hear...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 - Democratic leaders say their party needs to de-emphasize the issue of abortion rights, concerned that Republicans have hurt the Democratic Party by portraying it as an uncompromising champion of abortion. In interviews and public appearances since Election Day, Democratic officials have said that the party should open its doors to abortion opponents and that candidates should make abortion a less central focus of future campaigns. Party leaders said they were not abandoning their fundamental support for abortion rights, but said Democrats should consider accepting some restrictions that enjoy popular support - like parental notification when teenagers...

South Bend, IN (LifeNews.com) -- Former Indiana Congressman Tim Roemer is pro-life in a party that is overwhelmingly pro-abortion in its upper echelons. But with loses in the last two presidential elections that polls attribute in part to the issue of abortion, party leaders may be ready for someone different. Earlier this month, it came as a shock to many that the top two Democrats, incoming Senate Democratic chief Harry Reid and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, are actively encouraging Roemer to run for the DNC chairmanship. For his part, Roemer acknowledges the gap between his view and most Democrats....

Journalists in Washington have been buzzing for days over reports that House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi is backing former Indiana Rep. Tim Roemer for Democratic National Committee chairman. Why? Because Roemer is pro-life. Could the staunchly pro-choice San Francisco Democrat really be putting her support behind this guy? Yes. While Pelosi hasn't officially endorsed Roemer, she did urge him to run. "Brendan Daly, spokesman for Pelosi, said the congresswoman ... would not oppose an antiabortion leader (for) the party," reported to the Boston Globe. That's only the latest is a series of signals suggesting that the Democratic Party is starting...

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SHAKE-UP IN THE LOUISIANA U.S. SENATE RACE by Jim Brown PoliticsLA.com columnist posted June 3, 2004 The conventional wisdom of political watchers throughout Louisiana is that the field running for the open senate seat of retiring incumbent John Breaux is pretty well set. And some newspapers have already awarded a runoff spot to Congressman David Vitter. A column in the state's largest paper last week declared Vitter a "cinch" to lead the field after the first primary. Don't count on it. A new candidate could well be in the hunt. David Duke is back home after a year-long "vacation" at...

April 24, 2004 WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is being urged by colleagues to threaten to close down the Senate for the rest of the year unless Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle ends his disruptive tactics. In addition to menacing all judicial nominations, Daschle is now preventing legislation from being sent to Senate-House conferences to resolve differences in bills passed by both Houses unless the outcome is guaranteed. Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, and other conservatives want Frist to counter Daschle by bringing the business of the Senate to a halt....

LOUISIANA LOG JAM The sudden interest in a political comeback by Republican former Gov. Buddy Roemer is threatening to deflate high GOP hopes for winning a U.S. Senate seat from Louisiana for the first time since Reconstruction. Polls show Republican Rep. David Vitter leading Democratic Rep. Chris John, retiring Sen. John Breaux's handpicked successor, and Democratic State Treasurer John Kennedy. Roemer, an ex-Democrat who served a controversial hitch for governor (1988-1992), could change all that if he enters the race with better name identification than any other candidate. In Louisiana's non-party free-for-all election, Roemer and Vitter could divide up the...