Arizona Democrats tap Hildebrand, as DNC plans to revise '08 calendar

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Arizona Democratic Party officials have lined up veteran political operative Steve Hildebrand to help organize its caucuses if the Democratic National Committee chooses their state to join Iowa and New Hampshire as one of the first proving grounds for Democratic presidential candidates in 2008.

The signing of Hildebrand -- a well respected strategist who ran the Iowa caucuses for Vice President Al Gore in 2000 -- to a contingency contract illustrates to what lengths states are willing to go to demonstrate to the DNC how serious they are about being selected for this early position on Democratic presidential nominating calendar. Arizona has also turned to Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) to personally lobby DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee members to pick her state, while Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) has made similar calls on behalf of Nevada.

"Arizona has a lot to offer and we wanted to make sure everyone knows it," Arizona Democratic Party Chairman David Waid said in an interview with the Grind.

Waid and representatives from nine other states and the District of Columbia will be in Washington, DC this weekend as the DNC's Rules committee chooses two states -- one from the West and another from the South -- for a coveted early position on the presidential primary calendar. One additional caucus state as well as another primary state will be picked Saturday afternoon and presented to the full DNC membership next month for ratification during the organization's summer meeting in Chicago.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/07/21/mg.fri/index.html?section=cnn_latest