Democrats plan to elect new party leader just days after Trump’s inauguration
WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Democratic National Committee informed party leaders Monday that the DNC will choose his successor in February, an election that will speak volumes about how the party wants to present itself for another four years. Donald Trump at the White House.
Jaime Harrison, in a letter to members of the powerful Rules party & The constitution committee outlined the process of how the party will choose its new chairman. Harrison said in the letter that the committee will host four candidate forums in January — some in-person and some virtual — with the final election Feb. 1 at the party’s winter meeting in National Harbor, Maryland.
The race to become the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee, while an insular party affair, will come days after Trump is inaugurated for a second term. The Democrats’ choice of leader next The loss of Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 will be an important starting point as the party begins to move forward, including addressing any structural problems and determining how to oppose Trump.
Members of the Rules & The Constitution Committee will meet on December 12 to set the rules for these elections, which will include top party positions such as vice-chairmen, treasurer, secretary and national finance chairman, in addition to the chairman position. The committee will also use that meeting to decide the requirements for gaining access to the ballot for those top party positions. In 2021, candidates were required to submit a nomination statement with signatures from 40 DNC members, and that will likely be the same standard for the 2025 campaigns.
“The DNC is committed to delivering transparent, fair and impartial elections for the next generation of leaders to move the party forward,” Harrison said in a statement. “Electing the Chair and DNC officers is one of the most important responsibilities of DNC membership, and our staff will conduct an inclusive and transparent process that gives members the opportunity to get to know the candidates as they prepare to cast of their voice.”
Two Democrats have announced campaigns for chairman: Ken Martin, chairman of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and vice chairman of the national party, and Martin O’Malley, the former governor of Maryland and current commissioner of the Social Security Administration.
Other top Democrats are considering a bid to succeed Harrison or are being pressured by party insiders, including former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke; Michael Blake, a former vice chairman of the party; Ben Wikler, chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin; Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan and former mayor of Chicago; Senator Mallory McMorrow, majority leader of the Michigan Senate, and Chuck Rocha, a longtime Democratic strategist.
The next chairman of the committee will be charged with rebuilding a party demoralized by a second Trump victory. They will also oversee the party’s 2028 nomination process, a complex and controversial exercise that will put the chairman at the center of the next presidential election.
South Carolina’s Harrison made clear in his letter to the rules committee that the four forums hosted by the party would be livestreamed and that the party would give Democrats across the country the opportunity to participate in the process through those events . He also said he plans to remain neutral during the presidential elections.
___
This story has been corrected to show that McMorrow is a senator, not a representative.