DNC chair race officially takes flight with its first candidate: Martin O'Malley
The Democratic National Committee chair race has officially launched with onetime Maryland governor and presidential candidate Martin O'Malley announcing a bid.
The race for Democratic Party chair has officially launched with former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, a onetime presidential candidate, announcing a bid to take the reins.
O'Malley, who has faded from the national scene of late, made a brief bid in 2016 to lead the Democratic National Committee, only to withdraw his name days later.
A person with knowledge of O’Malley's plans said he has already connected with key party leaders who have "expressed interest in his vision for the Democratic Party’s future." He is expected over the next several weeks to lay out the key tenets to his vision for the party. They include communicating with Americans "not through fear" but terms of in providing a better future.
O'Malley, who is the commissioner of the Social Security Administration, is expected to lean on his record as a mayor, a governor and the chair of the Democratic Governors Association. And he's expected to express support for a 50-state commitment, meaning the DNC would help maintain party infrastructure across the country, not just in battleground states. That's a position several contenders are expected to take.
While O'Malley formally entered the fray, which was first reported by The New York Times, plenty of other names were swirling even before the Nov. 5 election. DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, who is leaving his post, is expected to make more public comments in coming weeks about how the party should move forward.
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