Summary
Ken Martin, chair of Minnesota’s Democratic–Farmer–Labor party, won the race to lead the Democratic National Committee, defeating Wisconsin’s Ben Wikler.
Martin takes over as Democrats grapple with major losses in the 2024 elections and seek to reconnect with working-class voters.
Supporters see his leadership as key to rebuilding the party, while critics worry it signals a continuation of the status quo.
His first major test will be the 2026 midterms as Democrats attempt to reclaim the House and rebuild their electoral strategy.
You watch. They will double down on trying to peel away Republicans.
This was my last vote for “not as bad as Trump.” They need to sit down with the few progressives they’ve allowed to force their way into the party and bring me a platform I can feel good about. Step one of that is going to be not continuing the rightward slide of the party.
This was already as bad an election outcome as I could possibly imagine, DNC. If we have an actual framework for free elections still in existence for the next one, I’m not going to vote for what I hope and think you might do if you can suck up to enough conservatives to get you into the whitehouse. You need to come with a platform that’s going to excite me.
As a non Democrat, why would Democrats try to pull away republicans when republicans have been playing politics like a team game?
Build your own damn team and give them a reason to be on your team.
Biden and Harris only got my votes because Trump has shown himself to be a piece of shit and Republicans are either throwing a blind eye or playing along in his game or Nazi.
No disagreement from me.
Yep
Yep. But we can’t sink any lower, so that was the last time. If we get another election, they need to inspire me with something better than just being less conservative than the Nazi party.
As long as Republicans move to the right, Democrats will too.
And that’s the reason for my comment.
We’re already at the point where if we go one hair further we never get another election. I’m not 100% sure we aren’t already past that point.
I’ve chased Dems as they’ve run right for voters, with the implied promise that if only they had control they’d be pulling some things in the other direction, for multiple decades. I have supported and agreed with the folks who have pointed out that during their only short period of real control they did manage to get the ACA (and probably other things I’m forgetting) passed.
They need another strategy than “we’re going to chase the less crazy R voters” if they want my vote again. They need a strategy other than “follow us to the right and we promise we’ll pull left when we can.”
Because events like this (and I well know there are many more), combined with how aggressively Kamala chased R voters, to the detriment of campaigning for D votes, make me feel that the only people who ever thought they had an intent to let progressive or even non-geriatric voices hold power were the idiots like me who kept voting for them.
I’m only going to get Charlie Browned so many times, and 2024 showed me exactly how many times.
Because they took leftist votes for granted.
Dems always expect the left to fall in line and back them, hence why they feel they are free to consistently move further right rather than to appeal to the wishes of their voters, because after all, what are the leftists going to do, vote Trump?
Because the alternative involves treating the left flank of the party like they are human beings with agency.
Harris lost in 2024 because Latino and Gen Z males who voted for Biden in 2020 swung to Trump in 2024.
Those voters are centrist/independents, and identify as neither Democrat nor Republican. They voted Democrat in 2020 and Democrats need to win them back in 2028.
Anyone who still thinks “capture the center” is how politics works when Donald Trump enthusiastically diving to the right beat Kamala Harris campaigning with actual Republicans isn’t willing to update their priors with new information.
It didn’t work for Kamala Harris. But it’s how Biden beat Trump. And it worked for over 20 sitting Democratic governors, one of whom will very likely be the next Democratic nominee.
There weren’t even 20 governors up for reelection and most of them weren’t competitive. You’re literally just making up data to support a conclusion that blatantly contradicts actual real life.
One of those governors will likely be the next Democratic nominee. And they all have a history of running as centrists. Not just in 2024, but in all of their previous campaigns.
Newsom, Pritzker, Beshear, Shapiro, etc aren’t going to spontaneously embrace socialism in 2028. And I’m sorry to disappoint you, but an 82 year old Bernie Sanders won’t be running in 2028.
You’re just proving the point, over and over again.
My only point is that the 2028 nominee is likely a current Democratic governor.
And if you don’t believe that, then you’re the one who isn’t paying attention to the political landscape.
Running to the right didn’t get their votes, did it?
Not this time. But Obama and Clinton successfully ran as a centrists, and I expect Democrats will try again in the future.
Why would they ever change?
You certainly don’t want them to.
They should only change if a different approach were proven to work better.
Practically speaking, that means leftists need to consistently win gubernatorial elections before a leftist can become a presidential nominee.
Sounds like an excuse to never try another approach.
I wonder what the new goalpost will be when the party’s best efforts are longer sufficient to keep progressives out of gubernatorial races.
I don’t think requiring evidence is an “excuse”. And so far there is little evidence that leftists can win statewide elections, which is a prerequisite for winning the presidency.
Conversely, if leftists start consistently winning elections then there is little that the party can do to stop them. That’s basically how MAGA took over the GOP.
Have you ever even heard of him before? Yet you’ve already decided to give up on him and the Democrats. You’ve already written then off, why should they bother trying to win your vote?
And this is in the face of what we’ve all watched Trump do over the last week.
This whole attitude you have is why the country is in the mess it’s in.
Damnit, I just saw the ml. I shouldn’t have engaged.