Democrats look to turn the page with DNC chair vote

Ken Martin worked the hallways Thursday at the Democratic National Committee’s winter meeting at National Harbor just outside Washington, delivering his closing message to party insiders who will elect the next party chairman.

Mr. Martin, head of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, is out to convince the DNC’s 448 members that his Minnesota magic will lead the party out of the wilderness after a disastrous 2024 election.

“I built an infrastructure in Minnesota that is unmatched around the country,” Mr. Martin told The Washington Times, citing his 25-0 record in statewide elections. “We’ve been able to win because we built an infrastructure that’s unrivaled and unmatched in this country and I want to take that same infrastructure he built in Minnesota and scale it up nationally.”

Mr. Martin also said he will strengthen the party’s hand to take the fight to President Trump, stand up for the working class and get the party back to its winning ways.

“The reality is the stakes are so high right now, Democrats need to see us in the fight, both pushing back against Donald Trump and giving us a sense of a plan to win again,” he said.

Mr. Martin and Wisconsin Democratic Chair Ben Wikler are considered the leading contenders in the race to replace Jaime Harrison, who has led the party since 2021.

Both are popular with DNC members, who admit there is little daylight between their vision to organize, unite and renew hope in the party.

The race also features former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, self-help guru Marianne Williamson, and former Bernard Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir.

Mr. Martin says he has secured the support of 200 DNC members. Mr. Wikler has endorsements from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, and the Service Employees International Union.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California are backing Mr. Wikler.

For his part, Mr. Wikler has highlighted the success Wisconsin Democrats have had on his watch, winning political fights and raising money in a perennial swing state.

“We need a chair who is ready on Day 1 to fight the fight, to contain the damage and to work to build for victory,” Mr. Wikler said in a recent forum.

He said the party must be strong enough to fight back against Mr. Trump and a Republican Party “bent on rigging this country against working people for the benefit of a tiny group at the top.”

The vote for chair at a National Harbor hotel on Saturday will mark the first concrete step the party has taken to distance itself from President Biden and start carving out a path forward as they prepare for the 2026 midterm elections.

The next chair will take over a party that is still picking up the pieces from the November losses. Mr. Trump smashed through the Democrats’ “blue wall” for a second time.

He rode the support of voters who turned away from Democrats’ warnings about the threat Mr. Trump posed to democracy and abortion rights and embraced his vision on the economy and immigration.

Months later, Democrats are still trying to figure out what went wrong and what they need to do to reconnect with voters. However, they see a foil in Mr. Trump and his most controversial early actions.

Former acting DNC Chair Donna Brazile said the vote for the chair would help the party turn the page like it did following losses in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections.

“We cannot go back to the old playbook. It doesn’t exist,” Ms. Brazile told The Washington Times this week.

She also said the next chair will have more leeway in rebuilding and redefining the party because they will no longer have to take marching orders from The White House.

“When you are the party of the presidency, you’re echoing the policies and the pronouncements and the strategy of the White House,” she said. “This is different.”