Not Gov. Mike Easley. Not former Gov. Jim Hunt. Not former Sen. John Edwards or members of the congressional delegation.

So it was a surprise two years ago when Meek upset the establishment candidate to become party chairman. As the outsiders' candidate, Meek was given a mandate to shake up the state Democratic Party.

Meek, who is up for re-election today, is no longer regarded as the rebel-in-chief. He gets high marks from some Democrats for leading the party through its best election in years, for bridging differences between the traditional power brokers and the more liberal Howard Dean wing, and for proving to be a competent fundraiser.

As a result, Meek is expected to win a second term as chairman when the state Democratic Executive Committee meets at Elon University.

"I think Jerry Meek has done a superb job," said Hunt.

Meek's first term was aided by a national Democratic tide motivated by opposition to the Iraq war. His second act may be more difficult, as he tries find a candidate to unseat Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole and tries to keep the governor's mansion in Democratic hands in 2008.

Meek is a boyish looking 36-year-old Raleigh lawyer, who at 6-foot-8 looks down on nearly everyone he encounters. He has thrown himself into the unpaid position, putting in 60-hour weeks -- thanks in part to the generosity of his employer, trial lawyer Wade Byrd of Fayetteville, a major Democratic donor.

Meek has sought to re-energize and reshape the party.

"The state party had been run as though we were still a one-party state -- a one-party state where Democrats rule," Meek said in an interview in the Goodwin House, the 1903 house a block from the Capitol that serves as party headquarters.

"The idea was that the party should disappear into the background. We now have a two-party state. The party has to be more savvy about how it uses its resources. It needs to be more aggressive. The party, as an institution, has to have its own voice. Because there might be times down the road when we don't have a Democrat in the governor's mansion or we don't have control of the General Assembly."

Several changes

Meek said he sought to change the party in several respects:

* From a top-down party run by governors to one more responsive to activists. The party has hired three field coordinators, helped counties set up Web pages, stepped up local training on organizing and other skills and instituted monthly conference calls with county chairmen.

* From a patronage-based system to an ideological-based system of organization. "People nowadays don't get involved in the party because they have any expectation of getting an appointment to a position," Meek said. As part of that effort, Meek will push the party to take positions on five or six issues that will be likely be considered by the legislature.

* From a party that relied on older, big donors and traditional business interests to one more attuned to young activists, many of whom engage in politics through the Internet. Meek, for example, used the liberal Web site, www.BlueNC.com, to ask party activists who should be recruited to run against Dole.

* From targeting party money primarily in swing districts to spreading some into traditionally Republican counties that the party has tended to ignore.

One such county was Watauga, home to the college town of Boone. Even though registered Republicans outnumber Democrats, the county elected a completely Democratic county board of commissioners and a Democratic sheriff, and helped elect two new Democrats to the legislature.

Diane Tilson, the Watauga County Democratic chairwoman, said a strong local effort was aided by the state party, which provided regular consultation as well as other help such as voter information and helping plan a roadside advertising campaign.

"I do know that Jerry has been very hands-on," Tilson said.

National discontent

Meek's election in 2005 reflected, in part, national discontent among Democrats following President Bush's re-election. That mood also helped elect former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean as chairman of the national Democratic Party.

Meek defeated Ed Turlington, a politically connected Raleigh attorney, by putting together a coalition of liberals, anti-war activists, and local activists who felt ignored by the state party.

There was some concern that Meek would try to move the party away from its centrist, pro-business moorings.

"The thing I didn't know about two years ago" said Hunt, "was whether or not he would lead the party in a moderate, mainstream way, which I think is typical of North Carolina Democrats and necessary to win elections. The fact is, I think Jerry has been very supportive and has led the party in representing the mainstream positions."

Meek's election put him at odds with Easley. Governors traditionally name their party chairs, and Easley had backed Turlington. For nearly two years, Easley boycotted party fundraising dinners.

Easley and Meek are still not pals, but they have come to an accommodation -- with Easley tending to the big picture and Meek running the party machinery.

"I think after some rough patches, Jerry Meek understands more about how the governor works," said Mac McCorkle, an Easley political adviser.

Meek reached out to party veterans, starting an annual Sanford/Hunt dinner named after two former governors. With the party cold war thawing, Easley spoke at the party's annual Vance-Aycock Dinner in Asheville in October.

Because 2006 was such a good year for Democrats, it will be difficult for Meek to repeat his success in 2008. The stakes are higher with presidential and gubernatorial races on the ballot. There will be more competition for Democratic donations.

Meek must keep Democrats from tearing each other apart in the expected gubernatorial primary between state Treasurer Richard Moore and Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue. And he must find a challenger for Dole.

Judging the success of Meek's approach is difficult because he presided during a national Democratic landslide.

Most agree he has given the party a shot of adrenaline.

"He is working very hard, and the Democrats are clearly on the upswing at the moment," said Andy Taylor, a political scientist at N.C. State University. "He certainly hasn't done anything to reverse it. The question is, how much is really attributable to his strategy?"

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