The Democratic National Committee It will elect a new chairman on February 1, the party announced Monday, following President-elect Donald Trump’s victory earlier this month.
Democrats will hold four public forums for candidates during January ahead of the party’s winter meeting in National Harbor, Maryland, outside Washington, where they will elect new officers, including the chairman.
The only voters are the DNC’s 448 active members, which include party insiders, elected officials and leaders of allied groups such as unions from around the country, but the party says it is soliciting input from outsiders and the general public.
Details of the rules governing the contest will be finalized at the party’s Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting on Dec. 12, but current rules require candidates to secure signatures of support from at least 40 DNC members to appear in the debate and on the ballot.
There are at least two candidates already announced — former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and Minnesota Democratic Chairman Ken Martin — while others are actively considering proposals. That includes Wisconsin state party chairman Ben Wikler, who will announce his decision shortly after Thanksgiving, a man who knows his thinking.
The timeline will be tighter than the last time the party chose a new chairman after losing the White House, when the election was held on Feb. 25 in 2017.
Feb. 1 would allow Democrats to claim a new seat shortly after Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration and at the start of his administration.
Party leaders gain additional power and importance when their party is out of power.
When Democrats control the White House, as they did under President Joe Biden, the president essentially appoints the chairman and the DNC acts as the president’s political arm.
But with Republicans in power, the DNC chair election becomes a wide-open contest for a number of candidates to lay out competing visions for the party and the chair’s role.
“As my time as chairman comes to an end and we prepare to do the critical work of holding the Trump Administration and the Republican Party accountable for their extremism and false promises, we begin to shape the process for the upcoming DNC officer elections in a New USA. Year,” said DNC Chair Jaime Harrison.
“Election of the Chair and DNC officers is one of the most important duties of the DNC Membership, and our staff will implement an inclusive and transparent process that allows members to get to know the candidates as they prepare to vote,” Harrison added.
Natasha Korecki contributed.