Democrats in disarray: Growing field in race to chair party

A Midwestern state party chair is off to a fast start in his bid to chair the Democratic National Committee (DNC). 

"I am running to serve as the Chair of the Democratic National Committee," Ken Martin, head of the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party, announced Tuesday in a social media post.

Martin becomes the second candidate to launch a bid to succeed current DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, who is not expected to seek a second four-year term early next year in the wake of this month's major election setbacks for the Democrats up and down the ballot.

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Former two-term Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, a 2016 Democratic presidential candidate who for the past year has served as Social Security administration commissioner in President Biden's administration, announced his candidacy on Monday.

Martin, who has led the Minnesota Democrats for a dozen years, serves as a DNC vice chair and is also the leader of the association of state Democratic Party chairs.

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"When I took over @MinnesotaDFL, we were in debt and disarray. But we brought people together, built a winning coalition, and delivered results. I’m ready to get to work to rebuild our party," Martin said in his social media post.

In an accompanying video, Martin emphasized, "if you're looking for a creature of D.C., that's not me. But I do know how the DNC works and how it isn't working."

He stressed that Democrats "need to reconnect our ideas — which we know are popular in red, blue and purple states across this country — back to our party and to our candidates."

Martin said he started his bid for DNC chair with the backing of over 80 DNC members. The next DNC chair will be chosen by the roughly 450 voting members of the national party committee.

O'Malley, in launching his bid, highlighted that "we must connect our Party with the most important place in America — the kitchen table of every family’s home. Jobs, Opportunity, and Economic Security for all. Getting things done. Hope. A 50 state strategy. Now," O’Malley emphasized in a social media post.

While O'Malley and Martin are the first two candidates to launch bids, others are expected to follow, as the Democrats try to rebound after losing the White House and Senate in the 2024 elections and failing to recapture the House of Representatives.

Another potential contender is Ben Wikler, chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party.