Four years after the implosion of his own attempt at the Democratic presidential nomination, Howard Dean emerged yesterday as a pivotal figure in the battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Mr Dean, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, signalled that he was open to Florida and Michigan holding new elections that Mrs Clinton’s advisers predict would reduce Mr Obama’s lead, currently standing at more than 100 delegates.

The 366 delegates picked in these two states have been stripped of their voting rights at the nominating convention this summer. Mr Dean has refused to readmit them because they broke party rules by holding primaries in January.

Although two million votes were cast in the contests — both won by Mrs Clinton — the candidates were banned from campaigning and, in Michigan, Mr Obama even took his name off the ballot.

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However, Democratic leaders are now worried about insulting two states that they are desperate to win in November’s election. Mr Dean hinted yesterday that he could back a compromise being proposed by the states’ governors in which they would stage a fresh vote.

“There is some indication that they want to resolve this problem. All they have to do is come before us with rules that fit into what they agreed, and then they’ll be seated,” he said.

Terry McAuliffe, the Clinton campaign chairman, has backed a “do-over” election, saying: “Let’s let all of the voters go again.” But Mr Obama’s aides are suspicious of the two governors: Charlie Crist, in Florida, is a Republican who may yet be John McCain’s vice-presidential running mate; and Jennifer Granholm, in Michigan, is a prominent supporter of Mrs Clinton.

Mr Obama cannot be seen to be supporting the disenfranchisement of voters, however. David Plouffe, his campaign manager, said: “This is between the DNC and those state parties.”

One stumbling block is how any new contests would be paid for. A Flo-rida primary would cost about $25 million, and neither the state nor Mr Dean is prepared to foot the bill. Mrs Clinton may ask her donors to contribute, and invite her opponent to do the same. But she would probably oppose the cheaper option of caucuses because such small gatherings of voters are usually won by Mr Obama.

Both campaigns are bullish before the next round of voting in Wyoming tomorrow. At a press conference yesterday Mrs Clinton said: “Some may believe that experience doesn’t matter or even that in today’s world it’s a liability but . . . when lives are on the line and decisions must be made experience counts for everything.

“When there’s a crisis and that phone rings in the White House, whether it’s 3pm or 3am, there is no time for speeches or on-the-job training.”

Mr Obama hit back by attacking his rival’s record as First Lady. “What exactly is this foreign policy experience?” he asked. “Was she signing treaties? Was she handling crises? The answer is no.”

David Axelrod, his strategist, has signalled that he is ready to delve into past Clinton scandals and demanded that she publish her tax records, asking: “What does she have to hide?”

Howard Wolfson, Mrs Clinton’s spokesman, later compared the Obama campaign to a notorious investigator of the Clinton White House. “I for one do not believe that imitating Ken Starr is the way to win,” he said.

Neither candidate should be short of money. Mrs Clinton has raised $4 million since her big state wins in Texas and Ohio on Tuesday. Mr Obama’s campaign announced yesterday that it had smashed all records by generating $55 million in February.

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