The race for Democratic Party chair has officially launched with a onetime Maryland governor and unsuccessful presidential candidate Martin O’Malley 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.
But 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. That includes communicating with Americans “not through fear” but in providing a better future.
O’Malley, who is most recently the commissioner to the Social Security Administration, is expected to lean on his record as a mayor, governor and chair of the Democratic Governors Association. And he’s expected to express support for a 50-state commitment, meaning that 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. The contest comes as former DNC Chair Jaime Harrison is leaving his post. Harrison is expected to make more public comments in coming weeks about how the party should move forward.
One of the people most often cited in Democratic circles as a possibility for DNC chair is Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler. Wikler is known as a prodigious fundraiser who gained the respect from Republicans and Democrats alike and has served as an omnipresent cable TV voice for the left in the last several major national and local elections.
“Ben is seriously considering a run,” a person with knowledge of Wikler’s thinking told NBC News.
Several DNC members privately said they were already backing Minnesota Democratic Party Chair Ken Martin. Martin has not formally announced he would run for the position but is “definitely considering it,” he told NBC News. Martin said he firmly believes the party should continue building in all 50 state parties.
“A lot of folks are calling me and encouraging me to run,” Martin said. “I would just say, I’ve had lots of good conversations. It’s a lot to consider.”
Martin is also president of the Association of State Democratic Chairs, which some supporters say could lend itself a natural springboard.
Rahm Emanuel — who is now serving as the U.S. ambassador to Japan and was previously the mayor of Chicago, a congressman and chief of staff to President Barack Obama — has floated his own interest in the job.
Two people close to Emanuel described his interest as somewhat tepid, also noting he may have larger prospects on the horizon. Emanuel may be open to running for public office in Illinois should longtime Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., make an announcement that could come in January, or if Gov. JB Pritzker decides against running for a third term when his is up in 2026, the two people said.
Several state party chairs told NBC News any Emanuel bid would be “dead on arrival,” or “laughable.”
Nebraska Democratic Party chair Jane Kleeb said in an interview she opposed Emanuel and could not see his bid gaining traction. Kleeb is backing Martin for DNC chair, she said, while she is interested in seeking the ASDC chair post that Martin now holds.
Whomever steers the party must pick up the pieces from a devastating loss to Donald Trump on Nov. 5. That will include helping determine where the primary calendar stands. NBC News on Friday reported that there is already an appetite to revamp the calendar yet again after months of painstaking argument and planning led the party to scrap Iowa and New Hampshire from its early state lineup.
