Two candidates have officially launched their campaign to be the next chair of the Democratic National Committee, kicking off the race to determine who will lead the party’s recovery after widespread losses in 2024.
Martin O’Malley, a 2016 Democratic presidential candidate and former Maryland Governor, became the first notable figure to jump into the race on Monday. Ken Martin, who is the chair of Minnesota’s arm of the Democratic party, and a DNC vice chair, announced his campaign Tuesday morning.
Democrats are sifting through the fallout of the 2024 presidential election, where they not only lost the White House and control of the Senate but also failed to win back control of the House. The party finds itself without a clear leader and unified vision for the future, representing both a hurdle for the next DNC chair but also an opportunity to overhaul Democrats’ approach with voters across the country in the coming years.
Whoever the party’s over 440 members elect to lead the party’s national committee will be in charge of the party’s top-level infrastructure, organizing and fundraising. And while DNC members tell CBS News that the eventual chair won’t determine the widespread policy of the party, that person will serve as a notable mouthpiece to help craft the Democratic message.
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While the party itself was locked out of federal control after the elections, fundraising remained strong. As a candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris raked in over $1 billion within the few months she was in the race. Her sum includes money raised by the DNC.
Jamie Harrison, the current DNC chair, has said he would not seek reelection.
The timeline for the election is not yet determined, though it will be addressed in a DNC Rules & Bylaws committee meeting on Dec. 12. DNC members expect the election itself to take place at their widespread member meeting before early spring 2025.
In their launches, O’Malley and Martin both said prioritizing the party’s message on the economy is essential. The state of the economy was a big issue that bolstered President-elect Donald Trump’s return to office, according to a CBS News exit poll.
“When I’m traveling around the country, most people I chat with want the same things: to stay ahead on their bills, to give their families a better life and to live in safe and healthy communities. That’s exactly what Democrats stand for, but we need to reconnect our ideas,” Martin said in his campaign video.
Chuck Rocha, a political strategist who worked for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign and Sen-elect Ruben Gallego’s campaign, told CBS News he is “seriously considering” a run for chair and has fielded calls from a handful of DNC members and nonprofits.
Rocha said he’s still waiting to see how the field develops before jumping in, and “if there’s a better candidate that really stands for what I want to see done with the party.”
But Rocha has set several action items he would take as chair: eliminate education requirements for senior DNC positions, mandating that state parties “be more inclusive” and diverse with consultant hiring, and to focus on building party infrastructure in all 50 states.
Asked about Martin’s and O’Malley’s campaigns, Rocha called them “names that are from the institution.”
“I think we need somebody from the outside and a strategist to come in and rebuild the party,” said Rocha, who noted that his non-college background and upbringing in East Texas could be an advantage as the party looks to reconnect with working-class voters.
Other names that could potentially run include Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler, who is “seriously considering” a run for chair according to a source familiar with his thinking.
Rahm Emanuel, the current U.S. ambassador to Japan and former Chicago Mayor, is also mulling over a run according to Axios. But potentially choosing Emanuel, a polarizing figure in the Democratic party, has been panned by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and progressive groups.
Martin, a DNC member since he became a state party chair in 2011, may be the early favorite. Alan Clendenin, an executive DNC board member who is already supporting Martin, said he has “a lot of friends in the DNC” and pointed to relationships built from his time as President of the Association of State Democratic Committees (ASDC). Clendenin said Martin already has support from just under 100 DNC committee members.
“The party is in a place where we have to have someone who has a really solid understanding of existing party infrastructure. What’s there, what’s not there. People who have walked the walk. Talked the talk. People who have had to deal with the frustration of what’s lacking and be able to understand what it takes to turn things around,” Clendenin said about Martin and the chair position.
Democrats’ lack of success in 2024 could linger over any of the candidates in the race. While Minnesota has been a reliably blue state under Martin’s watch, it’s not seen as a presidential battleground state. But if Democrats wanted to gravitate towards someone from any of the seven presidential battlegrounds, the fact that the Harris-Walz ticket lost every one of them may prove to be a hindrance for a party incredibly eager to avoid a repeat performance in 2028.
“We just need to win,” said one DNC member about the stakes of the chair race. “We need to know who’s coming with the game plan to make it happen… We don’t make policy. We win elections, and we win presidential elections. That’s our priority.”
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