DNC members have chosen a new chair. [Getty]
Over the weekend, members of the Democratic National Committee elected a long-time party insider and supporter of Israel as their new chairman.
On the heels of losing the presidential election, the DNC chose Ken Martin, a longtime state party leader from Minnesota who had been serving as a DNC vice chair.
He received 246.5 votes out of 428 cast on the first ballot, a decisive vote for the Democrats’ new leadership, tasked with party infrastructure and fundraising.
Martin is a longstanding supporter of Israel. On Saturday, Democratic Majority for Israel President Mark Mellman sent his congratulations to Ken Martin, saying they had spoken to with him before his election and “he assured us that he supports a strong U.S.-Israel relationship and reminded us that his support for that alliance has been longstanding”.
“It was surprising in that it was decided on the first ballot,” J. Miles Coleman, associate editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, told The New Arab. “It reinforces the politics. The people who were voting are people working within the party.”
Until this week’s DNC election, it appeared that Ben Wikler, a political organiser from Wisconsin, was the favourite to win. He had former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s endorsement and had been hitting the late-night shows with a message of reaching out to the working class.
“It’s one of those results that shows social media doesn’t align with real life,” said Coleman.
For his part, speaking before DNC members following his win, Martin called for party unity and urged people to focus on resisting President Donald Trump.
“We have one team, the Democratic Party, and we have one fight. The fight’s not in here, it’s out there,” he reportedly told DNC members.
“The fight right now is against Donald Trump and the billionaires who bought this country,” he said.
In addition to the party chair, the DNC also chose vice chairs and other officers: Vice Chair for Civic Engagement and Voter Participation Reyna Walters-Morgan Vice Chair (three positions): Artie Blanco, Malcolm Kenyatta, and David Hogg, Secretary Jason Rae, Treasurer Virginia McGregor, and National Finance Chair Chris Korge.
Longtime pollster and president of the Arab American Institute James Zogby had run for DNC vice chair, promising to take on special interests and dark money. It would, however, be difficult to win on such a platform for a position that is largely focused on party fundraising.
