The fractured and leaderless Democratic National Committee is meeting today, February 1, to pick a new chairperson to move the party forward after devastating losses the November elections. It should be a time of unity, to take the Democratic Party back to the saner middle ground – or even to progress farther to the left, so long as it’s together. Instead, angst and name-calling among the candidates – both of whom are middle-aged white guys – dominate strategy.
The role of the chairman is many-faceted and exhausting when all pertinent parties are sniping and squabbling, but the main responsibility is to craft a message and stick with it. That didn't happen in 2024. Fundraising and recruitment are also a critical part of the job.
Outgoing Chairman DNC Jaime Harrison spent a few hours of reflection with the Associated Press. He gave a lot of advice for the new guy, including not just being a "rubber stamp" to the next presidential candidate. "I did not always have a seat at the table, was not always invited in the room. And I just think that is inherently problematic because of the perspectives that you bring."
That seems inherent to today's decision.
Mixed Messages Within
For an organization that pushes DEI into every nook and cranny of government and corporate America, it's not apparent in the DNC. The Democratic Party endorsed a woman of color to be president, hoping that Vice President Kamala Harris would break that final glass ceiling. But on the heels of a stunning loss to Donald Trump, two old white guys are now in the top slots competing for leadership of the party – and they are not getting along.
Frontrunner Ken Martin, the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party chair, claims he has the support of 200 members. Martin's strategy would take the "Wellstone Approach," a phrase coined after the beloved Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-MN), who tragically died in a plane crash in 2002. "Paul Wellstone always said, 'Even if they tell you you're ahead, run like you're 20 points behind.'"
Martin learned at Senator Wellstone’s hip, campaigning for him and interning for him in DC. As Martin reflected:
"They remember him as a US senator. But they forget his time before that—when he was organizing during the farm crisis. He was out there standing with farmers in the early 1980s. Paul, at the heart of it, believed that the role of the Democratic Party was to be a champion 'for the little feller, not the Rockefellers,' as he used to say.”
That was lost when big tech and big pharma joined the political benefactor business.
Martin, whether he has the votes or not, faces competition from Ben Wikler, who chairs the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. His spokesperson released a statement to counteract Martin's claims of support: "Ken Martin is releasing inflated whip counts because his momentum in this race has stalled, and he is seeking to create a false sense of momentum," the statement read. "Our internal count has Ben within 30 votes of Ken, with a surge in support since last week's union endorsements. Ken has fewer votes than the combined support for Ben and Martin O'Malley and lacks a clear path to the majority."
O'Malley spokesman Chris Taylor told a national news outlet that "not a single soul" believes Martin, who he asserted is acting "beneath the seriousness of this moment."
Wikler wants to take his style of catering to every voter, no matter the party affiliation, and hopes they will see the light. He will steer resources to all 50 state parties so that they can do the same. The Minnesotan will help dramatically improve the party's outreach everywhere – not just in urban Democratic Party strongholds – but in rural areas and small towns chock full of conservatives and "Little Fellers."
"(Democrats) don't talk the talk in a way that shows people that they're fighting the fight," Wikler said last week during an introspective moment at a candidate forum hosted by the Texas Democratic Party. "And that's where we need to change."
Democratic strategist James Carville has said much the same: "It's just really – has a suppressive effect all across the country on Democrats. Some of these people need to go to a 'woke' detox center or something," he said. "They're expressing a language that people just don't use, and there's backlash and a frustration at that."
DNC Decision Time
Yes, there are more hopefuls: Former Maryland governor and 2016 presidential contender Martin O'Malley hopes to take the chair, as does Faiz Shakir, a longtime adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and executive director of More Perfect Union. However, the numbers appear clearly in favor of Martin and Wikler, and one only needs 225 votes to win. If it holds, Martin's latest endorsement count would bring him close to victory on the first ballot.
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