Kirk Won’t Seek Another Term as Democratic Party Chairman : Heated Ideological Battle for Control of Hierarchy Seen

Democratic National Chairman Paul G. Kirk announced today that he will not seek a new term, setting the stage for what could be a heated, ideologically driven battle for control of the party’s hierarchy.

Kirk, who assumed the chairmanship after the 1984 election, said at a news conference he had no favorite as a replacement and argued that while he expects the succession fight will be “spirited,” he did not foresee a “big blood bath in the party.”

However, his departure is certain to escalate what had already been viewed as a tough struggle to head the party, which is trying to determine why it has lost five of the last six presidential elections.

A successor is to be chosen when the national committee meets Feb. 9-10.

The South and the West

A number of Democrats believe that if the party is to win national races, it must put on a more moderate or conservative face and needs to pay more attention to the South and West--two growing Republican strongholds. George Bush used those GOP bases to defeat Democrat Michael S. Dukakis on Nov. 8.

However, the most liberal forces in the Democratic Party, including civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, believe that the best path is to reassert its liberalism.

Still others, recognizing that the party has had considerable success in state and local elections and now easily controls the House and Senate, do not see a need of an overhaul for the working structure of the party.

Apparently in an effort to tone down a bitter intra-party battle, a number of leading Democrats, including Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Tex.), Dukakis’ running mate, had urged Kirk to stay on--and for a while after the Nov. 8 election, Kirk had suggested that he might consider such an option.

2 Leading Candidates

Among the leading candidates to replace Kirk are Rick Wiener, who is leaving his post as chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party, and attorney Ronald Brown, who ran Jackson’s operation at July’s Democratic National Convention.

Also mentioned have been three former House members: conservative James Jones of Oklahoma, a former head of the House Budget Committee; the much more liberal Michael Barnes of Maryland, and Jim Stanton of Ohio.

Wiener wasted no time jumping into the fray, announcing his intention to seek the chairmanship even before Kirk made his departure statement.

“I’m a professional campaigner and I’m proud of it,” Wiener said. “The Republicans must think that’s important too . . . since they chose Lee Atwater to serve as their chairman.” Atwater was manager of Bush’s presidential campaign;. The President-elect quickly named him to lead the national GOP.