After Mecklenburg Democrats' post-election turmoil, will party pick a new leader?
The Mecklenburg County Democratic Party will hold its convention Saturday, including electing the county party's next chair. Candidates include former state representative and Council of State candidate Wesley Harris, who is challenging current Chairman Drew Kromer.
Kromer faced criticism and calls for resignation in the wake of the 2024 general election over a staffer's departure and allegations the party neglected African American voters. He took office two years earlier pledging to increase fundraising and bring in more professional staff, but many Democrats were disappointed once again with turnout levels in deep blue Mecklenburg.
Harris has campaigned on addressing 'dysfunction that has led our core voters to lose trust in our ability to lead.'
Whoever is elected chair will lead the county party through the 2026 midterms as it looks to defend Democratic dominance in local races and respond to the Trump administration's sweeping policy shifts.
Precincts get different numbers of votes based on how many votes were cast for the Democratic nominee for governor in each precinct in the last election, according to state party rules.
Kromer, first elected in 2023, told the Observer when he took office his key goals were to increase the party's community presence and increase fundraising to pay for an executive director and additional staff to 'professionalize' the party.
A Charlotte native, he's a graduate of Davidson College and UNC Chapel Hill and a lawyer by trade. Kromer previously served as vice chair of the College Democrats of America, a delegate to the 2020 Democratic National Convention and a member of the state Democratic Party's Executive Committee.
Harris represented parts of southern Mecklenburg from 2019 to 2024 in the North Carolina House. He ran unsuccessfully for state treasurer in 2024, losing to Republican Brad Briner by a margin of 47.5% to 52.5%.
He grew up in Taylorsville and Statesville and graduated from Clemson University before a career as an economist and tax consultant.
Harris told the Observer after announcing his campaign for party chair that his statewide candidate allowed him to see what strategies are working, or not working, for other county parties. He said he'd put those lessons to use as a party chair.
'Don't show up a couple of weeks before the election knocking on doors,' he said. 'Show up months before, years before the big elections, and just be part of the community.'
No other candidates appear to have publicly announced campaigns.
Turnout and community relations have been points of contention among local Democrats since the 2024 general election.
Despite record-setting fundraising and an optimistic message about efforts to get voters to the polls in 2024, voter turnout in heavily Democratic Mecklenburg once again trailed the rest of North Carolina as Democrats failed to flip the battleground state for presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Days later, Mecklenburg Democrats executive director Monifa Drayton resigned from the party with a letter that compared her experience to that of 'professional Black women during the Jim Crow era.'
Multiple Black precincts chairs, including the first vice president of the county party's African American Caucus, told the Observer after Drayton's resignation party leadership, including Kromer, failed to heed warnings about lackluster grassroots organizing in communities with large numbers of Black voters.
The caucus later released a statement calling on Kromer to resign.
Kromer previously pushed back on those claims and calls for resignation, saying the party is focused on advancing new strategies for organizing and outreach. He said the party made investments in the African American community during the 2024 election cycle.
'What we've seen from the national results is that the party has a lot of work to do to connect with voters and to ensure that our candidates can win up and down the ballot,' he said previously.
Harris said previously he'd spoken with some African American community leaders about post-2024 concerns and wants to 'build trust back.'
'We're a diverse party. Having a diverse party like that has a lot of different viewpoints, and real leadership is bringing those viewpoints together for a common goal,' he said.
County party members will gather at 10 a.m. Saturday at Little Rock AME Zion Church for their yearly convention.
In addition to electing county-level officers, attendees will elect delegates to the state party's executive committee and discuss resolutions and the party's platform.
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