Democrats to elect a new party chair on Feb. 1

The Democratic National Committee will elect a new chairman on Feb. 1, the party announced Monday, as it reels from President-Elect Donal 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.

The timeline will be more compressed than the last time the party elected a new chair after losing the White House, in 2017, when the election was held on Feb. 25.

The Feb. 1 date will allow Democrats to have a new chair in place shortly after Trump’s Inauguration on Jan. 20 and at the start of his administration.

Party chairs take on extra power and significance when their party is out of power.

When Democrats control the White House, as they have under President Joe Biden, the president essentially appoints the chair and the DNC acts as the political arm of the president.

But when Republicans are in power, the DNC chair election becomes a wide open contest for a range of candidates to put forth competing visions for the party and the role of the chair.

“As my time as Chair comes to a close and we prepare to undertake the critical work of holding the Trump Administration and Republican Party accountable for their extremism and false promises, we are beginning to lay out the process for upcoming DNC officer elections in the New Year,” said outgoing DNC Chair Jaime Harrison.

“Electing the Chair and DNC officers is one of the most important responsibilities of the DNC Membership, and our staff will run an inclusive and transparent process that gives members the opportunity to get to know the candidates as they prepare to cast their votes,” Harrison added.