Ken Martin

And what it took is when I came in as party chair, it took someone to be able to bring all those groups back to the table and realize if we're going to build power again, We had to figure out a plan to win. And we did that. And we got back in power within two years. And we haven't lost since.

And we're in a similar moment right now, right, where there's low morale, a lot of finger pointing, a lot of people trying to place blame. I'm, by the way, not here to win the argument. I want us to win elections again. And that's what we've done in Minnesota. And so there's a lot of reasons why I'm running. I'm very clear-eyed about what this job isn't. It's not a pathway to glory.

And we're in a similar moment right now, right, where there's low morale, a lot of finger pointing, a lot of people trying to place blame. I'm, by the way, not here to win the argument. I want us to win elections again. And that's what we've done in Minnesota. And so there's a lot of reasons why I'm running. I'm very clear-eyed about what this job isn't. It's not a pathway to glory.

For people thinking that this is a pathway to relevancy, it really isn't that either. The next DNC chair has to focus relentlessly on building the infrastructure throughout this country to put us on a path to win again. And so that's why I'm running.

For people thinking that this is a pathway to relevancy, it really isn't that either. The next DNC chair has to focus relentlessly on building the infrastructure throughout this country to put us on a path to win again. And so that's why I'm running.

I think both are accurate, right? They're both accurate. It was a close election, right? And we think about the presidential race, 114,000 vote swing of three battleground states. And we'd be talking about a Kamala Harris presidency right now. Same with the House races, right? 7,000 votes between three battleground districts. We'd be talking about Speaker Jeffries. So it was a close election.

I think both are accurate, right? They're both accurate. It was a close election, right? And we think about the presidential race, 114,000 vote swing of three battleground states. And we'd be talking about a Kamala Harris presidency right now. Same with the House races, right? 7,000 votes between three battleground districts. We'd be talking about Speaker Jeffries. So it was a close election.

But there's no doubt that what you said, the second part of that is absolutely accurate. We lost ground with big parts of our coalition. And there's a whole host of reasons for that. Many of them we don't know at this point. Of course we know we lost ground with Latino voters. We lost ground with younger voters. We lost ground with working class households, with women.

But there's no doubt that what you said, the second part of that is absolutely accurate. We lost ground with big parts of our coalition. And there's a whole host of reasons for that. Many of them we don't know at this point. Of course we know we lost ground with Latino voters. We lost ground with younger voters. We lost ground with working class households, with women.

We lost ground with every demographic group with just a couple, and I'll get to that in a moment. But the reality is that we have to figure out the how and why we lost ground. We have to look at ad spend. We have to look at messaging. We have to look at our organizing tactics, right? Before we're too prescriptive with the solutions, we have to really dig into why those groups left us.

We lost ground with every demographic group with just a couple, and I'll get to that in a moment. But the reality is that we have to figure out the how and why we lost ground. We have to look at ad spend. We have to look at messaging. We have to look at our organizing tactics, right? Before we're too prescriptive with the solutions, we have to really dig into why those groups left us.

And I would say one of the big lessons from this last election was the spring of 2024, there was research that came out that showed for the first time in American history, the perceptions of the two political parties have actually changed.

And I would say one of the big lessons from this last election was the spring of 2024, there was research that came out that showed for the first time in American history, the perceptions of the two political parties have actually changed.

The majority of Americans now feel that the Republican Party best represents the interests of the working class and the poor, and the Democratic Party is a party of the wealthy and the elites. And the only two groups, by the way, Just to prove the point that we actually over-performed with, we're wealthy households and college-educated voters. That is a damning indictment, John, on who we are.

The majority of Americans now feel that the Republican Party best represents the interests of the working class and the poor, and the Democratic Party is a party of the wealthy and the elites. And the only two groups, by the way, Just to prove the point that we actually over-performed with, we're wealthy households and college-educated voters. That is a damning indictment, John, on who we are.

That's not who we are as a party. We have always been the party that's fought for the working class and the poor. We've always been the party that's fought for the oppressed and marginalized. And so we have a lot of work to do, right? And it's not going to change overnight.

That's not who we are as a party. We have always been the party that's fought for the working class and the poor. We've always been the party that's fought for the oppressed and marginalized. And so we have a lot of work to do, right? And it's not going to change overnight.

And the other thing we need to acknowledge, and you know this, you've been involved for a long time, this wasn't a singular occurrence, all those groups leaving us. This has been happening underneath our nose for some time. And we have to stem the tide and reverse the tide. We need to get those groups to come back to us.

And the other thing we need to acknowledge, and you know this, you've been involved for a long time, this wasn't a singular occurrence, all those groups leaving us. This has been happening underneath our nose for some time. And we have to stem the tide and reverse the tide. We need to get those groups to come back to us.

Well, I'll use some personal examples of that. My brother, who's a union carpenter, he voted for Obama in 8 and 12, and Trump in 16, 20, and 24, right? My father-in-law is a beef cattle farmer in southern Minnesota. Same thing, voted for Obama and then voted for Trump. So we know that there are people who are moving away from our party. And I think part of the challenge- Did you ask them why?