By unanimous votes, Montana Democrats re-elected Melville rancher Dennis McDonald as their chairman and picked Rep. Margarett Campbell of Poplar as their new vice chairwoman at an officers' convention Saturday.

The crowd at the Montana Democratic Party officers' convention was in a buoyant mood. Democratic activists still wanted to celebrate their successes helping Brian Schweitzer become, in 2004, the first Democrat elected governor in 20 years and rallying behind Jon Tester when he knocked off three-term Republican U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns last year.

But elected officials and state Democratic leaders implored the party faithful to join them in working even harder in 2008. Their goals: to re-elect U.S. Sen. Max Baucus and Schweitzer, unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, win other statewide offices and capture majorities in the Montana House and Senate.

Top elected officials gave much of the credit for the party's successes over the past two years to McDonald, the reed-slim cattle rancher from Sweet Grass County who wears a king-sized cowboy hat.

Baucus, Schweitzer and Tester all praised McDonald for crisscrossing the state many times on the party's behalf, organizing central committees in all 56 counties for the first time in years and fielding a record number of Democratic legislative candidates in 2006.

"I'm going to work my tail off to make sure there is no Republican anywhere in the state that runs unopposed," McDonald said earlier.

However, it was Campbell, an American Indian, tribal college administrator and two-term legislator, who stole the show with her comment after her victory.

"Only the Democratic Party would elect cowboys and Indians for leaders," Campbell said to loud laughter.

Tester told the several hundred Democrats if they hadn't worked so hard for him last year, the U.S. Senate would still be in Republican hands.

Instead, the Democratic Senate passed "the best, most complete ethics reform since Watergate," increased the minimum wage and passed a bill to increase Pell grants for college students from lower income families. He praised Baucus for his bill to provide health insurance for thousands more low-income children.

He urged Montana Democrats to work hard to elect a Democratic president next year.

"If you give us a change of direction, we can just do so many more things," Tester said. "We need a president that's willing to work, compromise and listen."

Schweitzer, who still doesn't have a Republican challenger for 2008, told reporters that he would use his dinner speech to tell Democrats to turn the other cheek when Republicans attack them and point instead to Democrats' accomplishments.

As it turned out, Schweitzer left the convention with the state forester to fly to a fire near Seeley Lake and canceled his speech to remain on the scene.

"When you're devoid of ideas for the future, your politics become politics of personal attack," Schweitzer planned to say. "When they attack you, say something nice about them."

Tell voters, Schweitzer said, that Montana has the nation's lowest unemployment rate, wages here are growing third fastest in the country and Montana has created 1,504 new jobs every month since January 2005.

Remind them, he said, that Montana has invested more money in public schools the past 20 months than in the previous 16 years combined and made college affordable by freezing tuition for two years.

Inform homeowners, he said, that for the first time in 16 years, their property taxes won't rise and they'll get a $400 per household rebate and a $130 tax credit.

"If they tell you to stick it where the sun doesn't shine, tell them you have provided shade," he said, referring to the $10 million being spent on state parks and habitat.

He concluded, "We'll be the nice party because we have ideas for the future."