David Hogg is out at the DNC. Now, the party is trying to move forward

CNN

21 hours ago

David Hogg is leaving the Democratic National Committee's leadership team, closing out a long and messy feud. Now, party chair Ken Martin and his allies hope voters will pay more attention to their efforts to define President Donald Trump and less to Democrats' infighting.
Both Martin's allies and critics within the party worry the fight with Hogg, who announced Wednesday he would not seek re-election to his vice chair role after the party voted to redo his February election, led to months of lost time. Early Martin initiatives, including investing more in state parties, staging town halls in Republican districts and over-performing in multiple local elections this year, have been overshadowed at times.
The DNC is still trying to find its footing as an oppositional force to Trump after a devastating 2024 election for the party, which is now out of power in Congress as well. With Hogg out of leadership, Martin allies hope the national party's messaging on issues such as Trump's sweeping domestic policy proposal and deployment of the National Guard and Marines to quell immigration protests will resonate ahead of next year's midterm elections.
'His heart is in the right place; his head is in the right place,' Kalyn Free, a DNC member from Oklahoma who filed the February procedural complaint that ultimately led to Hogg's exit, said of Martin. 'He is doing everything he can to rebuild this party and to get our message out. Unfortunately, he has been distracted by this situation with Mr. Hogg and I know we need to move beyond that.'
One DNC member, who backed a Martin opponent to lead the party and asked for anonymity to speak candidly, was more critical.
'In the absence of a Democrat in the White House, you would look to your national chair as a face for Democrats, and we just haven't seen it,' the member told CNN.
Martin told CNN in a statement that Democrats have been able to 'cut through the noise.' He touted the launch of the party's new organizing program and said Democrats are 'sharpening our messaging and opposition tactics' with a new 'War Room.'
'Some people in DC just want to win the argument, but I'm focused on winning elections,' Martin said in the statement. 'The American people don't care about beltway chatter, and neither do I – they want to know that Democrats are fighting for them. Under my leadership, that's what the DNC is doing.'
Most recently a low-profile head of the Minnesota state party, Martin is still trying to build up his own national name recognition and boost DNC fundraising, points he made in a leaked audio recording of a May 15 call with top DNC leaders that was reported first by Politico. (The DNC ended April with $17.9 million cash on hand, compared to the Republican National Committee's $67.3 million, according to recent FEC reports.)
Martin entered the chairmanship with two goals: improving the party's external messaging and reforming the party's internal operations.
The chairman's defenders point to several accomplishments that haven't gotten the same attention as the Hogg fight.
In April, the DNC announced that state parties will receive an additional $5,000 a month. Martin has also campaigned for Democrats in several state and local races, from a March special election for a majority-deciding state House race in western Pennsylvania to holding events in New Jersey to boost turnout in the Democratic gubernatorial primary.
'I never remember DNC chairs doing those sort of things,' said Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, a DNC vice chair who asked Martin to visit the district in his state. 'That has been a big shift in how the party is doing work, getting out of DC, not treating DC like it's the only thing that matters, and recognizing that everywhere you look there's a place that we can organize.'
Martin handily won the DNC chairmanship on the first ballot thanks in large part to his long relationships with state party leaders. The Minnesotan spent several years as the head of the party's Association of State Democratic Committees and made investing in state parties – particularly those in Republican-led states – a key part of his sales pitch to DNC voters.
Supporters have praised his focus on organizing, arguing that some past DNC chairs neglected to build up the party's base. But others have called for a stronger messaging approach.
'I think a lot of people are giving him credit for investing in state parties … that's the behind-the-scenes work that I think he's good at,' another DNC member told CNN. But the member went on to say that 'messaging has been non-existent' and 'the town hall thing seemed like kind of a gimmick that didn't really deliver anything.'
'There's just not a lot of there there coming out of the DNC, compared to some previous DNC chairs who were much more aggressive on the messaging,' the member added.
That member pointed to past chairs, including Terry McAuliffe, who led the party after George Bush's 2000 presidential election victory, and Tom Perez, who led the national party during Trump's first term, as leaders who were stronger messaging presences. The DNC member also acknowledged that Martin's tenure has just started.
'It's early, things can turn around,' that person said.
Martin's supporters also credit him for a new rules package that would require party officers to stay neutral in primaries. Democrats are set to consider Martin's proposal at an August meeting.
At the center of the Hogg conflict was a divide over how to best move the party forward. In the wake of President Joe Biden's late exit from the 2024 presidential race, Hogg became one of many young Democrats pushing for generational change in the party. In April, he pledged to spend part of a $20 million investment supporting primary challenges to incumbent Democrats in safe seats he deemed 'asleep at the wheel.'
Martin, however, is fighting an older battle. His campaign pledge to enshrine officer neutrality in the party bylaws is a callback to the 2016 election cycle, when the DNC cemented its reputation in the eyes of many progressive supporters of independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders as a party willing to put its thumb on the scale. For Martin, part of rebuilding the party's brand means changing that perception.
Michael Kapp, a California DNC member, said he spoke with Hogg two to three times in the last few months and laid out the history of the 2016 era fights.
'This is about for now and for the future, and that's why I support Ken Martin's plan to enshrine neutrality into the bylaws, so we not only try to rebuild some of the trust that we lost in 2016 – and we're still trying to build today – but that we hold future DNC administrations accountable,' Kapp said.