Faiz Shakir, who led Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign, has entered the race to chair the Democratic National Committee, putting a new candidate in the low-key race.
Shakir confirmed his candidacy in a text message to POLITICO. The New York Times first reported Shakir’s decision.
Shakir’s delayed entry into the primary could shake up a primary that focuses primarily on party mechanisms rather than ideology. In a letter to DNC members, Shakir said he was “frustrated” by the “lack of vision and confidence about what to do to restore the severely damaged Democratic brand” and decided to join the race.
“We all seem to agree, at least rhetorically, that focusing on reclaiming America’s diverse working class is a top priority,” Shakir wrote in a letter to DNC members. “But as I listened to our candidates, I felt a limited, status quo mentality. “We can’t expect working-class audiences to view us differently if we don’t offer something new or substantive to attract their support.”
But Shakir began his bid far behind Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Ben Wikler and Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chairman Ken Martin. Both have made high-profile endorsements and blocked some of the DNC’s 448 members. February 1 Party Chairman. Former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley also formed a support bloc among DNC members.
DNC chair candidates are scheduled to participate in a second forum in Michigan on Thursday, but Shakir, who entered the race Wednesday, will not take the stage. Two more forums are scheduled for January.
In a letter to members, Shakir laid out some of his bid platforms, including a promise to turn the DNC into an “organizing force” with its own “powerful media outlets” that would release its “compelling original content.”
