BURSTThe field of candidates running for Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair is solidifying, bringing the party a step closer toward recalibrating after a disappointing election night.
State party chairs Ken Martin of Minnesota and Ben Wikler of Wisconsin, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, New York state Sen. James Skoufis and former Homeland Security official Nate Snyder have all launched bids, as has Robert Houton, a former Maryland Senate candidate seen as more of a long shot.
Here’s a look at four factors that could shape the race.
Experience
Martin and Wikler enjoy early advantages given both men are DNC members and helm Midwestern state Democratic parties.
Martin has chaired the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) since 2011 and holds key institutional knowledge as president of the Association of State Democratic Committees and vice chair of the DNC. He’s emphasized that his state party hasn’t lost a statewide election since he’s been chair.
“If you’re looking for a creature of D.C., that’s not me,” he said in video rolling out his bid. “But I do know how the DNC works — and how it isn’t working.”
Wikler has chaired the Wisconsin Democratic Party since 2019.
He argues Wisconsin was a bright spot for Democrats in November, despite President-elect Trump’s win in the state, because Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) won reelection and the party made inroads in the Legislature.
“When the polls are within the margin of error, we win by the margin of effort,” Wikler said in his announcement video. “And what has made a difference in Wisconsin can make a difference everywhere.”
O’Malley, most recently a Social Security Administration commissioner, has touted his organizational expertise, touting his two terms heading the Democratic Governors Association. He also notes he’s been a successful candidate before.
“I’ve knocked on doors as a city council candidate,” he told NewsNation in an interview. “I have been elected in a majority African American city, and then again, by higher and higher margins, and reelected after a recession as governor of the very diverse state of Maryland.”
Skoufis has embraced an “outsider” campaign, saying he’s not a “D.C. beltway guy.”
Instead, he points out he’s won a New York seat situated in Trump country as proof he knows how to win in competitive territory. He also says he would bring a “younger, fresher perspective.”
Bringing factions of the party together
The last time Democrats saw an open DNC race, it became a proxy battle between establishment Democrats and progressives following Trump’s 2016 win.
Democrats now will be looking for candidates who can bridge divides within their party.
Wikler and Martin appear to be the early front-runners as both have racked up prominent endorsements.
Wikler has the backing of centrists and progressives, including Third Way, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and MoveOn.
Martin has won at least 100 endorsements from DNC members, including Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and DNC committee member James Zogby.
The candidates will address DNC forums next month.
2028 presidential nominating calendar
The next DNC chair could have a big say in reevaluating the party’s nominating calendar.
NBC News reported last month at least half a dozen committee members, state chairs, and officials have said the party should reexamine the order of state primary votes.
Skoufis is the only DNC candidate to publicly comment so far. He called on Democrats to maintain the current calendar, arguing in a memo that preserving an order of South Carolina followed by Nevada and New Hampshire “better reflects the diversity of our party and our nation and places voters who are the backbone of our party–but with whom ties have frayed–front and center.”
Democrats voted to change their presidential nominating calendar ahead of the 2024 presidential election, which made South Carolina first. But the calendar was not tested in a competitive primary environment.
“This will be one of the DNC’s primary responsibilities over the next two years, and it’s crucial that we set an early window and primary calendar that puts us in the best position to win back the White House,” Nevada Democratic Party Chair Daniele Monroe-Moreno wrote in a memo released earlier this month.
Diversity
While Democrats have touted the need for diversity, the candidates running to chair the party do not represent a diverse group.
Snyder, who is Hispanic, is the only candidate of color, and there are no women in the race.
“I was surprised that there was not a single woman that was running for chair,” said gun control advocate David Hogg, who is running for DNC vice chair. “I was struck by that.”
Hogg is not supporting a candidate at the moment and praised the current field.
The lack of diversity is striking given Vice President Harris’s historic presidential nomination as the first woman of color to be a presidential nominee on a major party ticket in the U.S.
Various party members have also called out the need for diversity when it comes to the age of their leadership team and the states and regions from which it is selected.
“If Democrats want to win back working-class voters and rebuild our broad coalition of voters of color, we should elevate the most working class and most diverse battleground state in the nation to be the first presidential preference primary for the 2028 cycle,” Monroe-Moreno wrote in the Nevada Democratic Party’s memo.