Ken Martin singles out a ‘few disgruntled people’ after rocky start leading national Democrats

A few months ago, Democrats around the country looked to Ken Martin as the turnaround artist who was going to lead their fight against Donald Trump.

But Martin, elected earlier this year to chair the Democratic National Committee (DNC) after a long tenure successfully leading the Minnesota DFL, has spent much of the time in his high-profile new role embroiled in bitter infighting.

“I knew coming into this that these are tough jobs, right?” Martin told the Minnesota Star Tribune, in one of his first interviews since the controversies broke. “And particularly on the heels of an election like the one we just had, there’s a lot of anxiety and concern and frustration, and people want to see the party and others doing more.”

Since Martin was elected to lead the DNC in February, fundraising has reportedly slowed, and internal fights have spilled into public view. David Hogg, a high-profile gun control activist elected as a DNC vice chair, ignited backlash after he promised to spend $20 million in safe blue districts to support primary opponents to Democrats he thought were ineffective.

Hogg stepped down from his new position in June. Soon after, prominent union leaders Randi Weingarten, who heads the American Federation of Teachers, and Lee Saunders, head of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, also left the DNC.

“While I am proud to be a Democrat, I appear to be out of step with the leadership you are forging, and I do not want to be the one who keeps questioning why we are not enlarging our tent and actively trying to engage more and more of our communities,” Weingarten wrote in her resignation letter .

Martin says his contentious start is reminiscent of his early days as the Minnesota DFL chair, a position he stepped into following the 2010 Republican wave election. Donors were weary and people were “fleeing” the party, he recalled. Navigating that turmoil and building one of the strongest state parties in the nation, he said, has prepared him to take over the DNC today at an inflection point on a larger scale. Democrats didn’t lose any statewide races during Martin’s 14 years leading the party.

As Democrats struggle to define themselves in the second Trump era, though, Martin’s tenure has so far been marked by the kind of infighting that often plays out behind the scene.

In an audio recording leaked last month, Martin is heard saying Hogg’s actions hampered Martin’s ability to be effective in his new role. Hogg did not respond to a request for comment.

Martin said he, like Hogg, supports primaries, but feels strongly that the party chair should not put his thumb on the scale.

“We both supported each other’s position on this. The challenge was, of course, there was no way to reconcile the two. And I think he realized that, and certainly I did as well,” Martin said.

Martin took Weingarten off the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee and suggested the move contributed to her departure.

“It’s a few disgruntled people, who if I’m being very honest, [are] pissed off that they weren’t appointed to a committee or that they didn’t get what they wanted,” Martin said.

“We haven’t seen, outside of a handful of people … really express any dissatisfaction with where the party’s heading,” he said.

But Martin avoided saying whether he thinks any lingering drama may be behind him now that Hogg is gone.

“I would rather not have to deal with internal silly bullshit that doesn’t help us win elections, but it’s the nature of the job,” he said.

In Martin’s first four months on the job, DNC officials say Democrats have won critical races, invested millions in state parties across the country and organized more than 130 town halls in all 50 states and in many Republican districts.

Those who know Martin, including some who did not support him when he ran for DNC chair, think he will be able to get through these challenges, especially now that Hogg is out of the DNC.

“There’s just people not giving him a chance and wanting to perpetuate some myth that the Democratic Party is imploding or something, and I don’t think that’s the case,” said Bryan Kennedy, the mayor of Glendale, Wis., who heads the board of directors for Democratic Municipal Officials and voted for Martin’s opponent, Ben Wikler, in the DNC chair’s race.

Kennedy says Martin has made an effort to reach out to him since he won and is pleased by his work so far.

Martin won the DNC chairmanship overwhelmingly on the first ballot, beating Wikler, who had the support of House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Martin likes to emphasize that he did not get the backing of the “status quo” billionaires or the establishment, instead touting grassroots support.

Brian Melendez, Martin’s predecessor as DFL chairman, said one of Martin’s biggest flaws was not being able to unite opposing factions, something that may be playing out with his shunning of billionaires and the establishment.

“He needs to do a better job of uniting people and having them understand that he’s now their guy, too,” Melendez said. “I don’t think he has historically demonstrated a lot of skill in that. He has been a leader of his own team.”

Ultimately, Melendez thinks Martin’s tenacity will get him through the latest challenges.

“He has a very well-formed vision of himself in power, and that’s very important to him, and so he may just persevere because he believes he’s entitled to a role like this.”

Corey Day, who worked as DFL executive director under Martin, says the former chair will be able to make it past the bad news.

“I think right now, Ken is just in the middle of this kind of storm where Democratic leadership, the party, its activists, are all just trying to figure out the direction of the party right now,” Day said.