(NewsNation) — Ken Martin, chair of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, won the Democratic National Committee’s election to be the party’s next chair.
He won in the first round with 246.5 votes out of 428 votes cast. (Delegates who live abroad are given half a vote, which accounts for the half percent of his total.)
Martin, who also previously served as vice chair of the DNC, relied on his long-standing relationships with delegates to secure his win. He also touted his record of 25-0 in Minnesota state races while campaigning for the position.
Martin beat Ben Wikler, chair of the Wisconsin Democrats, and six other candidates. Wikler had received the endorsements of eight large unions as well as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but that support was not a match for the relationships Martin had built within the party as well as the endorsement of Representative James Clyburn.
“We’re coming. This is a new Democratic Party. We’re taking the gloves off. We are not going to sit back and not take you on when you fail the American people,” said Martin when asked by NewsNation about his message to President Donald Trump.
Part of his plan to start winning races immediately includes creating a “war room” that will focus on combating misinformation and disinformation. He also acknowledged that Republicans successfully spent three years defining Joe Biden and the Democratic Party before Democrats began revving up their communications infrastructure to respond. Martin wants to make sure that doesn’t happen anymore.
Of Trump’s first weeks in office, Martin said his actions “have shown us what happens when amateur hour meets demolition derby.”
Throughout the race, Martin said that under his leadership, the country can expect year-round campaigning that will prove to Americans that Democrats are the party that delivers for the working class.
Martin plans to build up state parties and promised to take the “great ideas from the other candidates” in the race and bring them to bear.
With the race in the rearview mirror, Martin said it was time to unify, believing that Democrats are part of “one team, one fight.”
Martin has his work cut out for him. Democrats lost the White House and control of the Senate and remain in the minority in the House of Representatives after November’s elections. Meanwhile, Trump has moved swiftly to follow through on some campaign promises, particularly on immigration and dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Republicans in Congress are also working to show that their party is unified.
Two big gubernatorial elections later this year, in Virginia and New Jersey, will test whether Republicans can keep up their winning streak or if Democrats are able to win back some of the working-class voters that have recently drifted away from the party.
