David Hogg may lose DNC vice chair role after committee votes to hold new election
After three days of submitting electronic ballots, DNC members voted to uphold the Credentials Committee's resolution proposed by longtime Democratic Party activist Kalyn Free to host a re-election for two vice-chair positions, currently held by Hogg and Malcolm Kenyatta. Seventy-five percent of those who cast a ballot voted in favor of the resolution, while 25% voted against it. A total of 89% of DNC members cast a ballot.
"The DNC will immediately move to administer new ballots for the final two Vice Chair positions, one of which must be held by a male and one of which may be held by a candidate of any gender," said the DNC's Deputy Press Secretary Nina Raneses. "The election for the male Vice Chair position will commence tomorrow morning at 10:00AM ET."
The DNC's decision is the latest political blow to Hogg, who stirred up intraparty divisions this year for his $20 million pledge to primary-challenge older Democrats in safe blue districts he said are "asleep at the wheel" through his outside political action group, Leaders We Deserve.
Hogg's DNC leadership hanging in the balance comes on the heels of a damning Politico report, which included leaked audio from a Zoom meeting of DNC Chair Ken Martin lamenting Hogg's fallout at the DNC.
"I don't think you intended this, but you essentially destroyed any chance I have to show the leadership that I need to. So it's really frustrating," Martin told Hogg on the May 15 Zoom call.
But the frustration didn't stop Hogg from endorsing Virginia state Del. Irene Shin in the special election to replace the late Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va.
Martin affirmed the DNC would stay neutral in Democrat primaries following Hogg's multi-million-dollar announcement. And the DNC chair gave Hogg the ultimatum to either rescind his vice-chair position or forego his political influence through his PAC.
While DNC officials, past and present, said the vote to host vice chair re-elections had nothing to do with Hogg personally, the progressive Gan Z activist framed the DNC's vote as an expedited plan to remove him as vice chair.
Hogg said Martin's newly proposed "neutrality pledge" was "trying to change the rules because I'm not currently breaking them."
"While this vote was based on how the DNC conducted its officers' elections, which I had nothing to do with, it is also impossible to ignore the broader context of my work to reform the party which loomed large over this vote," Hogg said after the Credentials Committee voted to elevate Free's complaint before the full committee.
Free submitted her complaint following the DNC's Feb. 1 officer elections, in which Hogg and Kenyatta were elected vice chairs. Free claimed the DNC's tabulation method violated the charter's provision and parliamentary procedure and "discriminated against three women of color candidates."
Last month, the Credentials Committee found the vice-chair officer elections violated parliamentary procedure and voted to recommend the DNC conduct a new election for the two vice-chair positions. Now that the full DNC has called for a new vote, they will conduct a re-election from June 12-17, in which Hogg and Kenyatta could lose their leadership positions.
One vice-chair position may be filled by a male and one may be a candidate of any gender, according to the DNC. Only the candidates who were eligible for the third ballot during the Feb. 1 election qualify for the re-election, which includes Kenyatta, Hogg, Free, Jeanna Repass and Shasti Conrad.
"This was never about Malcolm Kenyatta or David Hogg," Free told Fox News Digital after the Credentials Committee elevated her complaint. "For me, this was about ensuring that the Democratic Party lives up to our ideals as the only political party to believe in and stand up for election integrity and a free and fair democracy."
But Kenyatta, who picked up the most votes during the Feb. 1 election, has criticized Hogg for playing "fast and loose with the facts without rebuttal."
"Any story about this that neatly places this into a narrative about David Hogg is wrong," Kenyatta said of the re-election buzz. "I worked my a-- off to get this role and have done the job every day since I've held it. This story is complex, and I'm frustrated – but it's not about @davidhogg111. Even though he clearly wants it to be."
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