Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean says Maine will matter in the Nov. 4 election.

Dean spoke to about 60 people attending a breakfast for Maine's 32 delegates and superdelegates and their guests Tuesday morning.

During his 15-minute informal talk, Dean spoke of the importance of Maine in the presidential election, and the importance of the U.S. Senate race between Republican incumbent Susan Collins and Democratic Congressman Tom Allen.

Allen is a scheduled speaker Wednesday at the Denver convention. Allen says his speech will be short, about a minute and a half, but upbeat and "forward-looking."

Allen also played down reports that question party unity as delegates wait to see what Hillary Rodham Clinton does to bring her delegates and supporters behind Barack Obama.