Ken Martin, the head of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, was elected chair of the Democratic National Committee on Saturday with a strong majority of votes, beating a crowded field in the first round of voting to become the new face of a party tasked with saving our democratic values during the second Trump administration.
Martin spent 14 years leading the Minnesota party, and eight years as a DNC vice chair. He emerged as an early front-runner in the race due to his long-standing ties to state party leaders. The Minnesota DFL hasn’t lost a single statewide race since he took over the party. For an excellent interview with Martin, take a few minutes and watch this inspiring interview with progressive media leader Brian Tyler Cohen.
Tasked with the challenge of strengthening and transforming the national party to withstand the second Trump administration, Martin said “We’re going to go out there and take this fight to Donald Trump.”
Just this past weekend, the Trump administration’s unauthorized chaos machine, Elon Musk, facilitated a coup by taking control of the U.S. Treasury, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and Office of Personnel Management (OMP), installing his own college-age crew who immediately locked out non-partisan government employees tasked with managing sensitive personnel records and payments. For an overview of these activities, listen to or read Dr. Heather Cox Richardson’s latest essay.
Also taking a seat at the table is Florida’s own David Hogg, one of the most active Young Dems in the country.