DNC chair candidate says Dems need a leader for ‘wartime footing’
WASHINGTON — DFL Party Chair Ken Martin, who is facing tough competition from his counterpart in Wisconsin, made an impassioned plea for labor support in his bid to lead the national Democratic Party during a candidate forum Monday evening.
“We need to have party members talk to workers instead of celebrities,” Martin said.
There was little disagreement that the Democratic Party was losing the support of the blue-collar workers who had once been a loyal constituency.
In the aftermath of their party’s devastating electoral losses, Martin and all the other candidates running to head the Democratic National Committee agreed the party needs to reconnect with the nation’s union members, many of whom drifted to Donald Trump in November’s election.
During the virtual forum hosted by the DNC’s labor council, there was unanimity that the DNC has to do more to include more union members among the party’s decision makers and recruit more union members as political candidates.
Martin said he’d make sure labor is well represented on a “national coordinated campaign table” he promised to establish at the DNC that would work year-round to boost candidates.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore
Moore, 45, is the only sitting Black governor, and the third ever to be elected in the United States. He has been described as a “rising star” in the Democratic party.
Moore recently gained national attention for pardoning 175,000 low-level marijuana convictions in his state. He and Biden shared a close working relationship after Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed earlier this year.
Moore was pressed into action in the aftermath of Biden’s debate, doing a series of interviews to defend the president while on a tour across Wisconsin to try to energize Black voters. Moore said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that he will not try to seek the DNC nomination after calls for Biden to drop out of the race, and pledged his full support for the president.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
Buttigieg, 42, is the former mayor of South Bend, Ind,, and a one-time candidate for chair of the Democratic National Committee. He became more well-known after he ran for president in 2020.
In the Biden administration, Buttigieg has gone after airlines and railways. But he has also taken on culture war issues like LGBTQ rights. Buttigieg is the first openly gay man confirmed to a cabinet position.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro
Shapiro, 51, attracted attention during his 2022 gubernatorial race against Doug Mastriano, a right-wing, Trump-backed candidate who promoted Trump’s lies about election fraud in 2020.
Shapiro previously served as the state’s attorney general, and is popular in the critical swing state.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker
Pritzker, 59, has been governor since 2019, and is currently serving his second term. He is a progressive — and a billionaire — who has aggressively attacked Trump over his legal woes.
He has expressed support for Biden after the debate, but in a recent CNN interview, said: “Right now, Joe Biden is our nominee, and I’m 100% on board with supporting him as our nominee unless he makes some other decision.”
