Deans Wants a Nominee by July 1

Amanda Carpenter | March 28, 2008 9:36 AM

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean is floating a deadline for his party to determine whether Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama will secure the Democratic nomination for president.

"I think it would be nice to have this all done by July 1," Dean said. "If we can do it sooner than that, that's all the better."

Dean made these remarks in an interview on ABC news Friday morning.

He noted the negative attacks the candidates have been using against each other and the impact it could have on the Democratic party. "There has been some personal criticism," he said. "We don't want this to degenerate into a big fight at the convention."