BURLINGTON, Vt. - Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean, struggling to get his White House bid back on track after crushing losses in Iowa and New Hampshire, replaced his campaign manager on Wednesday with a longtime aide to former Vice President Al Gore.

Dean, the former governor of Vermont running as an outsider with an anti-establishment message, named Washington operative Roy Neel to try to steady his slide from one-time front-runner to also-ran in the first two contests of the 2004 election season.

Former campaign manager Joe Trippi, the Internet guru who helped propel Dean from a little-known former governor of a small Northeastern state to the top of the Democratic field, quit rather than accept a different position, political sources said.

"Governor Dean asked Roy Neel to join the campaign and Joe Trippi resigned as campaign manager," spokesman Doug Thornell said.

While Dean was closeted in staff meetings in Burlington and sitting for satellite interviews with television outlets in 12 states that hold contests next Tuesday and beyond, his rivals were already campaigning for votes in the South and West.

The turmoil in the Dean campaign followed a devastating 20-point loss to Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry in Iowa on Jan. 19 and a televised concession speech that turned into a fist-pumping, bellowing rant.

Going into New Hampshire, Dean was trailing Kerry by as many as 25 points. He managed to eke out second place in Tuesday's primary, finishing 13 points behind Kerry. Aides had said he needed to close the gap to single digits to right his foundering campaign.

FOCUS ON TUESDAY

Dean said in the satellite interviews he planned to compete in all Tuesday's seven contests. But he had shifted resources to New Hampshire, spending $1.5 million on advertising in the final week, and his campaign is looking at cost-cutting measures.

With Trippi's help, Dean raised $40 million by the end of last year -- more than any other Democrat -- mostly through small donations over the Internet.

Political analysts said back-to-back double-digit losses were not good enough for a man who dominated the race through the summer and fall and that Dean needed to prove he could win a race soon, preferably on Tuesday when seven states hold primaries or caucuses.

Dean said he was determined to stay in the race for the long haul but played down expectations for Tuesday.

"We've got enough money and enough volunteers and organization to go to the convention," he said. "I don't think we have to win one although were going to play to win every single one of them. What we have to do is get more delegates than anybody else."

Neel, a longtime friend and aide of Gore, was also former President Bill Clinton's deputy chief of staff. Gore has formally endorsed Dean and will campaign for him in South Carolina later this week.

From 1977 to 1994, Neel served in key roles in Gore's Washington operations, first as his chief of staff in Congress and then in the same job when Gore became vice president.

Prior to leaving the White House, he served as Clinton's deputy chief of staff, responsible for coordinating all policy and communications activities. Neel also managed Gore's campaign in 1992.

Trippi, 47, has worked for a series of past Democratic campaigns, among them the unsuccessful White House bids of Edward Kennedy, Walter Mondale, Gary Hart and Richard Gephardt, a rival of Dean's until he pulled out of the 2004 race after finishing fourth in Iowa on Jan. 19.

© Copyright Reuters Ltd 2004

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