Topeka ? An Overland Park attorney close to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is seeking another term as the Kansas Democratic Party’s chairman, and he appears to face no challenger.

Chairman Larry Gates confirmed his plans Monday during an interview. The party’s 223-member State Committee is scheduled to meet Saturday to elect officers for the next two years.

No one else has announced plans to seek the chairmanship. Prominent Democrats are pleased with Gates’ work, virtually guaranteeing he’ll receive a fourth term.

“I think the party has made a great deal of progress under his leadership,” said Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Topeka Democrat. “He’s put a lot of hours into what is essentially a volunteer job.”

Gates, 61, was Sebelius’ choice for the chairmanship after she became governor in January 2003. Gates said Monday that he hadn’t intended to keep the job so long but decided to seek another term to provide continuity through the 2010 election.

“I just thought the continuity argument and the need to keep the momentum going together were more important,” Gates said.

The State Committee meeting is the second day of the Democrats’ annual statewide Washington Days convention. The convention’s biggest event is a Friday night banquet, with Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer as the keynote speaker.

Gates’ long tenure contrasts with turnover in the Kansas Republican Party’s chairmanship. The GOP has elected four chairmen in six years.

But Christian Morgan, the Kansas GOP’s executive director, said Gates’ continued chairmanship shows the Democratic Party is “stagnant.”

“I would contend there really isn’t a Democratic Party in Kansas. There is a Kathleen Sebelius party,” Morgan said. “They’re not looking for anything new.”

Prominent Democrats such as Hensley praise Gates for his ability to raise money for the party, although it’s much easier with Sebelius as governor. The party raised $1.9 million in 2007-08.

The number of registered Democrats in 2008, nearly 485,000, was almost 7 percent higher than in 2004. Republican registration shrank about 1.5 percent, to about 771,000.

“I think he’s done an excellent job,” State Treasurer Dennis McKinney, a Democrat, said of Gates. “He’s a calm steady voice with a lot of experience.”

Morgan noted Democrats lost the 2nd Congressional District seat last year, as well as a seat in the Kansas Senate. Democrats picked up two seats in the Kansas House, but one of them was a postelection switch by a GOP member who had long been voting with Democrats.

And in 2010, the state constitution will prevent Sebelius from seeking another term as governor.

“The Republican Party is in an upswing, and the Democratic Party is stagnant,” Morgan said.

Hensley acknowledged Democrats had hoped for better election results last year but added, “I still believe the party is competitive, and the 2010 election still could be a very successful election for us.”