Minnesota state party chair Ken Martin was elected on Saturday as the next leader of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) after securing 246 votes out of the 428 members who voted, winning on the first ballot.
Martin was seen as one of the frontrunners in the race, beating Wisconsin state party chair Ben Wikler and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who were among the seven other candidates running against the Minnesota Democrat.
Martin touted the state party’s track record of winning 25 statewide elections since he took the helm of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party in 2011 and his perch as the president of Association of State Democratic Committees (ASDC).
The Minnesota Democrat had at one point said he had endorsements from 200 DNC committee members and did receive the backing of some prominent Democrats like Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.).
Notably, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) backed Wikler, though their backing was clearly not enough to sway enough members toward endorsing the Wisconsin state party chair.
Martin will be at least one figure the party will be able to turn to as a unifier-in-chief and leader, as few Democrats have immediately emerged from November’s election to guide the party. particularly with former President Biden and former Vice President Harris stepping away from the spotlight.
Martin faces a tough task ahead as the next DNC chair, who will not only have to bring together different factions of the party but also guide the party’s response in opposing President Trump in his second term in office.
That task will be particularly challenging with Democrats out of power in Congress and the White House.
