(Host) Governor Howard Dean is moving closer to a formal decision to run for president. Dean says he’ll create a political action committee later this week that will help finance a presidential campaign. That’s something that Dean cannot do with his current PAC known as the Fund for a Healthy America. It was established to help Dean offer financial support to like-minded state and federal candidates across the country.
Dean says he is very pleased with the support his potential presidential campaign has received. He says the time has come to take his campaign to the next level. That means hiring staff and putting a campaign structure in place.
Under federal law, once a candidate has raised $5,000, they must file a report with the FEC:
(Dean) "We’ve just got to get ourselves organized and start raising some money and this is the right vehicle to do it. You know, there’s a big game that goes on in Washington – maybe you will and maybe you won’t and all this stuff. And you know, I’m pretty direct and when I decide I’m going to do it, I think you have to file for it. As I said before, I’m 7/8 of the way there but I’m close enough so we really need to be running for president here, not pussyfooting around about will we or won’t we."
(Host) Dean plans to hold his first major presidential fundraiser in New York next month.