Dem
47
GOP
53
"Democrats in disarray" has been used so much that it is getting a bit boring, so Axios used a different word in its article about the DNC and its chairman Ken Martin. The thrust of the article is that Martin is a "Minnesota nice" guy but maybe not the guy the Democrats need right not to run the DNC. The main job of the DNC is raising money and he is not doing that very well. The Party has $15 million in the bank—and $17 million in debt. That probably won't hurt so much in the midterms because Democrats are fired up and don't need TV ads to tell them to go vote, but going forward, Martin will have to do much, much better. The RNC has $95 million in the bank, no debt, and plenty of big donors who can be called upon when needed.
Where the DNC plays a big role is organizing the 2028 primaries, debates, and so on. It is badly fragmented about that, since the primary schedule has a huge effect on who the presidential nominee might be. If South Carolina goes first (where 60% of the primary voters are Black), Black candidates like Kamala Harris will get a big boost and candidates Black voters don't like (such Pete Buttigieg) will be left on the ground as roadkill. It would be New Hampshire in reverse. Nevada would love to go first, and Latino candidates from the region (hint: Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-AZ) would benefit from that. Having a big state, say, Michigan, go first, puts a premium on fundraising rather than shoeleather. The decision is fraught and Martin doesn't seem to be able to herd the cats well. Maybe nobody could, but Martin signed up for the job and "nobody" didn't.
Martin also has a thin skin and takes policy criticisms as personal criticisms. Having a thin skin is not a good characteristic for the nominal head of a major political party. People have said he is melancholy. He also tends to rely too heavily on Minnesota allies he knows well.
Some of his ideas have been very poorly received, like having a midterm convention this year. These things are expensive and the Party is broke, so there is a lot of internal resistance. He only recently gave up on the plan, but defended it for far too long.
Another idea of Martin's that has been problematical is his decision to first commission an autopsy report about 2024 and then decide to hide it. Bad combination. Either you commission it and then publish it, come what may, or if you are afraid of what it might say, don't commission it in the first place (or at the very least commssion it secretly and don't tell anyone about it). Martin has been widely criticized for first commissioning the report and then burying it. Why Kamala Harris lost isn't that much of a secret after all. Voters disliked Joe Biden and she was "more of the same," prices were up, Black and Latino men don't vote for women, Harris didn't excite young voters, and generally, she didn't give anyone a clear and compelling reason to vote for her.
It is always hard for the "out" party to raise money in the first year after a painful defeat, and maybe Martin will learn the ropes, but many people feel the head of the DNC should be a real fighter, especially with such an inviting target as Donald Trump. This is doubly true when the other Party leaders, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) are seen as old, weak, or both.
All this is not to say Martin is hopeless and the DNC is dead in the water, but he needs to get going much better before 2027 hits hard. (V)