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448 members of the DNC who will vote 214.5 votes needed to win | |||||||||||||||||
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The 2025 Democratic National Committee chairmanship election was held on February 1, 2025, at the party's winter meeting in National Harbor, Maryland, to determine the next chairperson of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Jaime Harrison did not seek a second term as chair of the party. Ken Martin won the election on the first ballot with 246.5 votes.
Harrison was elected chair of the Democratic National Committee in January 2021, following the presidential election of Joe Biden in 2020. During his tenure, Harrison defended Biden from calls to suspend his 2024 re-election campaign amid the first 2024 presidential debate. Following the 2024 United States presidential election, in which Democratic vice president Kamala Harris was defeated by Republican former president Donald Trump, it was reported that Harrison would not seek re-election as chair of the Democratic National Committee in 2025. An all-staff meeting was held on November 6, 2024, to discuss the results of the election and a potential timeline for a leadership vote, [1] which was initially scheduled to occur by March 1, 2025 at the latest, according to party bylaws. [2]
Harrison officially announced that he would not seek re-election as DNC chair on November 25, 2024. The election to determine the next chair was held during the party's winter meeting on February 1, 2025, during which 448 DNC members voted on a chair; a simple majority of votes was required to win. [3]
In order to qualify as a candidate for chair, prospective candidates had to submit a nominating statement signed by 40 DNC members by January 25, 2025. [6]
The party hosted forums for candidates, [3] who will need to submit the signatures of 40 DNC members to participate in forums. [6] Each of the forums were livestreamed. [37] All declared candidates qualified to attend the forums, [23] however, Robert Houton was barred from attending any forums by outgoing DNC chair Jaime Harrison after making several positive statements about President Donald Trump and several contributions to Republican candidates. [38]
No. | Date and time | Place | Host | Link | Participants | ||||||||
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P Present I Invited A Absent | Hathaway | Martin | O'Malley | Paul | Shakir | Skoufis | Snyder | Wikler | Williamson | ||||
1 [39] | December 7, 2024 4:45 p.m. ET | Boston, MA | Young Democrats of America | YouTube | N | P | P | N | NYD | P | N | P | NYD |
2 [40] | January 6, 2025 6:00 p.m. ET | Virtual | DNC Labor Council | YouTube | P | P | P | P | NYD | P | P | P | P |
3 [41] [42] | January 11, 2025 4:00 p.m. ET | Virtual | Democratic National Committee | YouTube | P | P | P | P | NYD | P | P | P | P |
4 | January 14, 2025 8:00 p.m. ET | Virtual | Brian Tyler Cohen Leigh McGowan | YouTube | P | P | P | P | NYD | P | A | P | P |
5 [43] [44] | January 16, 2025 7:30 p.m. ET | Detroit, MI | Democratic National Committee Politico | YouTube | P | P | P | P | N | W | P | P | P |
6 [45] | January 23, 2025 2:00 p.m. ET | Virtual | Democratic National Committee | YouTube | P | P | P | P | N | W | P | P | P |
7 [46] | January 24, 2025 6:00 p.m. ET | Charleston, SC | Democratic National Committee South Carolina Democratic Party | YouTube | P | P | P | P | A | W | P | P | A |
8 [45] [47] | January 30, 2025 3:00 p.m. ET | Washington, D.C. | Democratic National Committee MSNBC | YouTube | P | P | P | P | P | W | P | P | P |
Of the 428 votes cast, Martin won 246.5 votes, Wikler won 134.5 votes, O'Malley won 44 votes, [115] Shakir won two votes [116] and Paul received one. [18]
Candidate | Round 1 |
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Ken Martin | 246.5 |
Ben Wikler | 134.5 |
Martin O'Malley | 44 |
Faiz Shakir | 2 |
Jason Paul | 1 |
Quintessa Hathaway | 0 |
No vote | |
Abstain | 4 |
Total |
This morning, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy ruled out a run, according to ABC News.
Walz answered, before making it clear he won't make an endorsement for DNC chair.
Others have pointed to the news that the Association of State Democratic Committees, the group Martin chairs that represents the largest voting bloc in the DNC, decided this week not to endorse a candidate.