The Democratic National Committee, reeling from President-elect Donald Trump’s victory earlier this month, will choose a new chairman on February 1, the party announced Monday.
The Democratic Party will hold four public forums in January for candidates to make their case, and will appoint new officers, including the chairman, ahead of the party’s winter convention in National Harbor, Maryland, outside Washington. We plan to select them.
Voters are only 448 active members of the DNC, including party insiders, elected officials, and leaders of allied groups such as labor unions across the country, but the party remains largely unpopular with outsiders and the general public. It is also seeking opinions from the public.
Details of the rules governing the contest will be fleshed out at the party’s Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting on December 12th, but current rules require candidates to have at least 40 votes to participate in the debate and vote. Need to secure signatures of support from DNC members.
At least two candidates have already declared, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and Minnesota Democratic Party Chairman Ken Martin, and several others are actively considering bids. That includes Wisconsin party chairman Ben Wikler, who plans to announce his decision shortly after Thanksgiving, according to a person familiar with his thinking.
The timeline will be shorter than the last time the party elected a new chair after losing the White House in 2017, when the election was held on February 25th.
The Feb. 1 date would allow Democrats to install a new chair immediately after Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20 and shortly after the start of his administration.
The party chairman takes on special power and importance when the party loses power.
When Democrats control the White House, as they did under President Joe Biden, the president generally appoints the chair and the DNC functions as the president’s political arm.
But with Republicans in power, the DNC chairman race will be a wide-ranging campaign with a variety of candidates offering competing visions for the party and the chairman’s role.
“As my term as Chairman draws to a close and we prepare to take on the important work of holding the Trump administration and the Republican Party accountable for their extremism and false promises, we are pleased to announce the incoming Democratic National Committee officers. “We’re starting to develop our election process in 2020,” said outgoing DNC Chairman Jamie Harrison.
“The selection of chairs and DNC officers is one of the most important responsibilities of DNC membership, and our staff is dedicated to providing comprehensive and transparent support that gives members the opportunity to get to know the candidates as they prepare to vote.” ” said Harrison. Added.
Contributed by Natasha Koreki.
