Days before Republicans take full control of Washington, the Democratic National Committee is locked in an intramural battle that’s less about how the party lost power and more about donor influence, personality conflicts and arguments about past slights and jealousies.
The two candidates who have emerged as frontrunners to become DNC chairman, Ken Martin of Minnesota and Ben Wikler of Wisconsin, are both middle-aged white men from the upper Midwest and chairs of mainstream Democratic parties. .
But as is often the case in internal Democratic debates, the fault lines in the primary were shaped not by ideological differences but by disputes over party mechanics.
Mr. Martin, 51, is campaigning on a platform of returning power and resources to the states, while his supporters are attacking Mr. Wickler, 43, as a tool of big donors and Democratic consultants in Washington.
Mr. Wikler’s supporters included a number of DNC officials who were agitated because Mr. Martin had created a group of state party chairmen competing for influence within the national committee. They say the Wisconsinite, who has turned his state party into a fundraising juggernaut, is a more dynamic figure who has succeeded in turning state elections like the 2023 Supreme Court race into national causes.
At the same time, Democrats not directly participating in the DNC race described the field as uninteresting to succeed outgoing Speaker Jamie Harrison. Among the party’s top leaders, only New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, has weighed in on the race (for Mr. Wickler). Some Democrats see DNC rivals’ claims of ties to donors and regular promises of more money for the state party as documenting the broader discussion about why Vice President Kamala Harris lost the election.
“If Kamala or Biden had called and said, ‘Look, we want to rally around . As interim party chairman. “I haven’t heard anything new about it other than giving the party more resources that are as old as the Republic.”
President Biden’s aides and Ms. Harris declined to say whether either would support the party’s presidential candidate.
The DNC chairmanship is often described as one of the worst jobs in American politics. This is especially true if the Democrats do not control the White House. Whoever wins the Feb. 1 vote will have the responsibility of helping keep the peace among interest groups, donors, congressional committees, ambitious governors and state parties while grappling with why the party lost again to Donald J. Trump There is this.
And once the 2028 presidential primaries begin in earnest, the DNC chairman will set the rules for the contest (including which states go first and who qualifies for debates) and perhaps try to remain neutral about who Democrats choose as their candidate.
Mr. Martin currently has the support of “well over 100” of the 448 DNC members, according to campaign adviser Justin Buoen. He entered the race in November with the support of 83 members. Another candidate, former Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland, has the support of “more than 60” DNC members, according to spokesman Chris Taylor. And New York State Sen. James Skoufis said he was the “first choice” among 23 DNC members.
Wikler’s team did not disclose his whip count.
None of the candidates have released a list of members supporting them, and with multiple rivals remaining in the race, it seems unlikely they will get the majority needed to win the election on the first ballot. Voters reconsider their options.
Four other candidates have also qualified to participate in four party-endorsed candidate forums scheduled for this month and the February 1 vote. They are Nate Snyder, a former Department of Homeland Security official in the Biden and Obama administrations; perennial presidential candidate Marianne Williamson; Quintessa Hathaway, who lost the 2022 Arkansas congressional race; And then there’s Jason Paul, a Massachusetts lawyer who self-published a book called “Trench Warfare Politics in the Age of Tinder.”
Jeff Weaver, who was a senior aide to Mr. Sanders’s 2016 and 2020 presidential runs and Rep. Dean Phillips’ 2024 primary challenge to Mr. Biden, has argued to allies that Mr. Wickler is too tied to the party’s major donors.
Mr. Weaver pointed in particular to billionaire Reid Hoffman, who criticized Mr. Wickler’s attempt to keep Mr. Phillips off the Democratic presidential primary ballot in Wisconsin last year. The state Supreme Court later ordered Mr. Phillips’ name to appear on primary ballots, but he ended his campaign before he could vote in Wisconsin.
“In my opinion, one of the most important roles of the new DNC Chairman will be to ensure a fair and open process in the 2028 Democratic primary,” Mr. Weaver said. “We need to make sure we have someone at the DNC who will ensure a fair process.”
Mr. Hoffman, who has donated millions of dollars to the Wisconsin Democratic Party over the years, is supporting Mr. Wickler, according to a person briefed on the billionaire’s deliberations.
Other supporters of Mr. Wikler argue he could help unify the party.
“I think the best thing about him is that he is a completely honest mediator between the ideological elements of the party,” said Matt Bennett, founder of Third Way, a centrist think tank that is backing Wikler. Long relationship with Mr. Hoffman. “This must be the DNC Chairman’s ideology: 50% plus 1, and when you get into office, be with God.”
But others look at both Mr Wickler and Mr Martin and see party leaders who have underperformed in 2024. Ms. Harris lost Wisconsin to Mr. Trump, and in solidly Democratic Minnesota, the party lost control of the legislature because a Democrat was elected. It was found that he was not a resident of the area presented to the State House of Representatives.
The DNC chairman holds a high-profile position but answers to only a very small number of voters. The DNC members who will vote in those positions are party insiders elected in their state, ex-officio members based on other positions they hold, and at-large members appointed by the national chair over the years.
Advertising or appearing on cable TV is rarely useful. Several DNC members pointed out that Mr. Wikler may have garnered more votes by appearing last month on a radio show hosted by one of North Dakota’s DNC members. Appeared on “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart.
But some candidates’ messages didn’t go over well. Mr. Skopis, the leading candidate who has attacked the party and its strategy, sent holiday postcards to party members. The front of the card says, “Thank you for your support this holiday season,” and the back says, “Unless you’re a political consultant who embezzled the DNC, we’ve got nothing but coal for them!”
Among those who received postcards were DNC members who were sometimes on the party’s payroll but were not entertained.
Other attempts by supporters to sway party votes have been thwarted. Some donors who organized efforts to call DNC members on behalf of Martin or Wickler were asked to stop over concerns that the effort would backfire, said a person briefed on the conversations.
“No one is really talking about the elephant in the room,” said Snyder, one of the leading candidates. That means we have to have a tear-down-and-run fight about what the future will look like,” he said. “I’ve never met anyone who was so overwhelmingly passionate about the process or a particular candidate (Ben or Ken).”
Theodor Schleifer contributed to the report.
