Democrats to elect a new party chair Feb. 1

The Democratic National Committee will elect a new chair on Feb. 1.

The Democratic National Committee will elect a new chair Feb. 1, the party announced Monday, as it reels from President-elect Donald Trump’s victory earlier this month.

Democrats will hold four public forums throughout January for candidates to make their pitches ahead of the party’s winter meeting in National Harbor, Maryland, just outside Washington, where they will elect new officers, including the chair.

The only voters are the 448 active members of the DNC, which includes party insiders, elected officials and leaders of allied groups like unions from across the country, but the party says it is soliciting input from outsiders and the general public.

Details of the rules governing the contest will be fleshed out when the party’s Rules and Bylaws Committee meets Dec. 12, but current rules require candidates to secure signatures of support from at least 40 DNC members in order to be in contention and on the ballot.

At least two candidates have already declared — former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and Minnesota Democratic Chair Ken Martin — while several others are actively considering bids. That includes Wisconsin state party Chair Ben Wikler, who is set to announce a decision right after Thanksgiving, a person with knowledge of his thinking said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/democrats-elect-new-dnc-party-chair-feb-1-rcna181658

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