Latest news with #CredentialsCommittee
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
David Hogg faces possible ouster from DNC after re-election vote
The Brief The DNC voted to hold a new election for two vice chair positions, including David Hogg's. A Credentials Committee complaint alleged the February vote violated party procedures. Hogg says the move is politically motivated amid his calls to challenge party leadership. David Hogg may lose his seat as a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee after the party voted to redo its February officer election, citing procedural concerns — and stoking deeper tensions over Hogg's confrontational approach to party reform. DNC members voted overwhelmingly this week to re-run the elections for two vice chair roles, including the one held by Hogg, a 25-year-old activist and rising progressive voice. The resolution passed with 75% of ballots cast in favor, following a complaint from party activist Kalyn Free alleging that the original election process violated DNC parliamentary rules and disadvantaged women of color candidates. The re-election will be held June 12–17. Hogg is eligible to run again but could lose his position depending on the outcome. The backstory The complaint, submitted after the Feb. 1 officer vote, argued that the DNC's tabulation method violated the party's charter and failed to follow proper procedure. Last month, the DNC Credentials Committee agreed, voting to recommend a re-vote. While DNC officials emphasized the decision was based on procedural fairness — not personalities — the re-election comes at a politically sensitive time for Hogg. Big picture view Hogg, who rose to national prominence as a survivor of the 2018 Parkland school shooting, has since become a forceful advocate for generational change in the Democratic Party. Through his PAC "Leaders We Deserve," he pledged to raise $20 million to primary challenge older Democrats in safe blue districts — a move that drew internal criticism. Earlier this year, leaked audio from a private Zoom call revealed DNC Chair Ken Martin expressing frustration with Hogg's efforts, telling him, "You essentially destroyed any chance I have to show the leadership that I need to." Following that conversation, Martin offered Hogg a choice: step down from his DNC role or stop organizing primary challenges through his PAC. While Hogg declined to step down, he now faces an electoral threat to his position. What they're saying Hogg has framed the re-vote as "an expedited plan to remove me as vice chair," adding that while the 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." Kalyn Free, the party member who initiated the complaint, pushed back on that interpretation, telling Fox News Digital, "This was never about Malcolm Kenyatta or David Hogg. 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." Kenyatta, who received the most votes in the February election and also holds a vice chair role, criticized the idea that the story should center on Hogg at all. "Any story about this that neatly places this into a narrative about David Hogg is wrong," Kenyatta said. "I worked my a– off to get this role and have done the job every day since I've held it… Even though he clearly wants it to be [about him]." What's next The DNC's new vote will include only those candidates who were eligible for the third ballot in February: Hogg, Kenyatta, Kalyn Free, Jeanna Repass, and Shasti Conrad. According to DNC rules, one vice chair position must be held by a male, while the other can be held by a candidate of any gender. Voting will begin June 12. The Source This article is based on official statements from the Democratic National Committee, reporting from Politico and Fox News Digital, and direct quotes from DNC officials and candidates involved in the election dispute. The re-vote was initiated after the DNC Credentials Committee found violations of procedure in the original February election. This story was reported from Los Angeles.
NBC News
11-06-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
DNC will redo party elections for David Hogg and Malcolm Kenyatta's posts after procedural error
The Democratic National Committee has voted to hold new elections for two of its vice-chair positions after a procedural challenge, meaning Florida activist David Hogg and Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, who were elected to the party's executive committee in February, have to run again in order to keep their positions. They won't have to wait long: A new, virtual, election between Hogg and Kenyatta begins Thursday. And the loser will be able to run in a subsequent election for the final vice-chair slot. The challenge that triggered the new election isn't directly related to Hogg's public spat with the DNC and its chairman, Ken Martin, over Hogg's decision to support primary challenges to Democratic incumbents. But the weeks-long episode, with Martin and other leaders backing a neutrality pledge for party officers, has inflamed tensions among members and kept the debate between Hogg and the party in the headlines. Last month, the DNC's Credentials Committee voted to recommend that the party hold two new vice-chair elections because it found that the DNC mistakenly created an advantage for the two male candidates, Hogg and Kenyatta, as it managed the internal elections at the end of a marathon February party meeting in Washington, D.C. Wednesday evening the DNC announced that 75% of the votes cast in a virtual election by its members voted in favor of approving that recommendation. Because DNC rules require equal gender representation on its executive committee, not including the party chair, the results of previous elections in February meant the DNC had to elect at least one man to its final two vice-chair slots. But instead of holding individual votes for each position, one to be filled by a man and one by a candidate of any gender, the party decided to hold one single vote to decide who took the final two slots. Oklahoma Democratic Committeewoman Kalyn Free, who unsuccessfully ran against Hogg and Kenyatta in the February vice-chair race, petitioned the DNC for a redo, claiming the decision to combine the ballots unfairly benefitted Hogg and Kenyatta over the female candidates who were eligible to win the final vice-chair slot. Though Free's challenge was filed well before his public spat with Martin, Hogg framed the decision last month as proof the party was trying to strip him of his title over his support for primary challenges to Democratic incumbents. Both Martin and Kenyatta vehemently disagreed with his framing: Martin blamed a 'procedural error' from 'before I became chair' for the episode, and Kenyatta criticized Hogg for distracting from the party's work by arguing the vote amounted to personal retribution. Tensions between Hogg and the party have been brewing for months, since the activist telegraphed his decision to back Democratic primary challenges. Ahead of the vote, Politico published a short clip of an internal Democratic Party call on which Martin vented his frustration with Hogg, saying the fight has 'essentially destroyed any chance I have to show the leadership that I need to.' The leak prompted another round of finger-pointing, with prominent DNC members accusing Hogg or his allies of orchestrating the leak. Hogg vehemently denied that and published a screenshot he said showed his text messages with the reporter who published the story. An election for the first vice-chair position between Hogg and Kenyatta will run virtually from Thursday morning through Saturday afternoon. Then, the party will hold another virtual vote Sunday morning through Tuesday afternoon featuring the four remaining candidates who were eligible at the end of the February elections.
The Hill
17-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
DNC infighting threatens to throw party into ‘chaos'
Infighting at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is threatening to consume Democratic leadership just as the midterms are starting to kick into gear. The tensions come after a DNC panel moved forward this week with the potential ouster of two elected officials, including gun control activist David Hogg. Now officials find themselves in a war of words over the issues at play, with Hogg alleging the move is a sign of party insiders seeking to force him out over his calls for supporting primary challengers to certain incumbents. Though others at the DNC deny the vote was related to Hogg's efforts, the feud is stirring up drama that Democrats want to avoid as they focus on regaining control of the House and possibly flipping the Senate next year. 'I hate to be the party of chaos when the GOP is doing such a good job of it,' Democratic consultant Marj Halperin said. 'This isn't the priority voters want the DNC to be focused on.' Pressure had been bubbling up for weeks, even before the DNC's Credentials Committee voted Monday in favor of holding a new election for the two positions that Hogg and Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta currently hold. Hogg, who was elected to one of the DNC's vice chair positions in February, first sparked controversy last month when he indicated that his group, Leaders We Deserve, would launch a $20 million effort to back primary challenges to incumbent House Democrats in safe seats. He emphasized that the group wouldn't target Democrats running in competitive districts or those who have been effective at standing up to President Trump. 'The reality is you should not be worried about this if you are a member of Congress if you are effective like [Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.)], for example, or [Rep.] Nancy Pelosi [D-Calif.],' he told The Hill at the time. 'What we are looking at is places where the elected official has not done a great job being effective against Trump.' But that met opposition from DNC Chair Ken Martin, who said shortly after that all DNC officials should remain neutral in primaries, saying Hogg is free to challenge incumbents but not as a DNC officer. He also said he has 'great respect' for Hogg as an 'amazing young leader.' Hogg argued in response that he wasn't violating any DNC rules. But these tensions look poised to come to a head following the Credentials Committee's vote, which was in favor of a complaint from a losing candidate for a vice chair position who argued the election procedure violated DNC rules. The entire DNC membership must vote to determine whether to redo the election in the coming months. The complaint was filed shortly after the election — well before the controversy surrounding Hogg — but he has argued the development needs to be viewed in the context of the latest developments, saying his work to reform the party 'loomed large over this vote.' But that has sparked pushback from some — including Kenyatta, the other vice chair — who maintain that the decision is not about Hogg and that he's trying to make the story about himself. Democrats said regardless of who is right, the bickering isn't a good look for the party as it needs to present a unified message opposing the Republicans' agenda. Democratic strategist Max Burns said he expects the public will likely view it as the DNC pushing out Hogg, but the broader issue is with the confusion over the DNC's rules. 'The reality is that the DNC's rules have clearly become so confusing that not even senior officials have any idea how to understand them,' he said. He warned the infighting could become an issue for those on both sides of the argument, as young people and Democrats who were considering getting more involved in the party could be turned off, creating a 'negative image all around.' 'The result is that it just becomes such an unattractive proposition for people to get involved with,' Burns said. 'It hurts the party on an infrastructural level when your operation looks this scattershot.' Even as the direct issue has just focused on internal party positions, the debate has broader implications and has stirred strong emotions. Adam Green, the co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said the takeaway that people will have is the party is targeting a 'young vibrant force in the party' who is trying to make it 'bolder.' 'That's the tragedy of Ken Martin picking a fight with David Hogg,' he said. 'Most people's impression of the Democratic Party is that it's defending a broken status quo and failing to shake up a broken political and economic system,' Green said. Kenyatta has denounced Hogg's framing of the issue, arguing he has a 'casual relationship with the truth.' He said Hogg's statements about the DNC's move pushed him 'over the edge' despite wanting to avoid adding to party infighting. 'But David's first statement out of the gate was, 'Here's the Democratic Party doing some maniacal thing to push me out' because of what he's doing with his PAC,' Kenyatta said. 'David knows that that is not true.' Hogg in an interview with The Washington Post said he doesn't take the criticism of him personally and what's happening is just about differing tactics. 'This is purely about a strategic disagreement, and should be treated as such, because we're all on the same side here. It's about, how do we create the strongest Democratic Party possible?' Meanwhile, Martin has expressed optimism about the party's recent wins in competitive races, making a subtle reference to the drama while pointing to Democrat John Ewing Jr.'s ousting of a three-term incumbent Republican mayor in Omaha. 'A lotta people in DC want to win the argument. I want to win elections,' he said Wednesday in a post on social platform X. 'Last night's huge victory in Omaha speaks to the power of 'organizing everywhere' — our new mission at the DNC.' Democratic strategist Matt Grodsky said he isn't as worried about the turmoil leading to a wider issue for Democrats broadly, saying most people living their daily lives aren't concerned with such fighting. 'At the end of the day, when it comes to the midterms, and if things stay the way they are, they're going to have two options. Do we want to continue with what Republicans are offering, or we want to go with what Democrats are offering?' Grodsky said. 'And I don't think that the intraparty fighting is going to be a big factor in that.' But he added that the longer the focus is on 'little fights and spats,' the harder it will be for the party to be able to focus on fundraising and candidate recruitment. The strategists all expressed some amount of sympathy with Hogg's broader effort to support younger challengers to longtime incumbents but said the DNC needs to be focused. Halperin said the party should focus on broader strategies to try to move forward, looking at the long-term incumbents and if they genuinely have support from their districts. She said the answer will vary from district to district, but the listening needs to come from outside the 'inner circle.' 'It sort of looks like we're going to talk internally and get our house in order the way we think it should be, then we'll be ready to go and talk to voters,' she said. 'I think that's backwards.'
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Malcolm Kenyatta: David Hogg has ‘very casual relationship with the truth'
Democratic National Committee (DNC) Vice Chair Malcolm Kenyatta slammed his fellow vice chair, David Hogg, on Wednesday, disputing the reason the gun control activist has said is why they may need to run for their positions again. Kenyatta argued in an interview on MSNBC that he has tried to ignore what Hogg has been saying recently to avoid party infighting and division, but Hogg's statement after the DNC's Credentials Committee voted in favor of holding a new vice chair election 'pushed me over the edge.' 'David has a very casual relationship with the truth,' he told host Symone Sanders Townsend. 'And he has not been truthful on so many points that have been raised on this show.' The Pennsylvania state legislator added that he's 'frustrated' with the decision to hold the election again given that he received considerably more votes than necessary to clinch one of the vice chair positions, but he respects it. 'But David's first statement out of the gate was, here's the Democratic Party doing some maniacal thing to push me out because of what he's doing with his PAC,' Kenyatta said. 'David knows that that is not true.' 'And so for all of the people who have, like I had, really high hopes for what David could bring for this party and who are now looking at the message that he's been pushing out and the emails that they have been getting from him about how he wants to reform the party, you have to be honest with people,' he added. The comments came after the Credentials Committee voted on Monday to support nullifying the results of the February election that made Hogg and Kenyatta vice chairs. The decision came as a result of a complaint that a losing candidate for a vice chair position had filed months earlier challenging the procedure in which the election was held. That candidate, Kalyn Free, argued that having a combined ballot for both positions rather than holding the elections separately violated the DNC's rules, to which the committee agreed. A full vote of the DNC is necessary for a new election to be held. But Hogg argued that the decision must be viewed in the context of the backlash he's received for his group, Leaders We Deserve, calling for primary challenges to longtime Democratic incumbents serving in safe Democratic districts. He's called for generational change among Democratic leaders and said he is not supporting challenges to those serving in battleground districts or who have adequately stood up to President Trump. The move has sparked considerable pushback within the party, with DNC Chair Ken Martin calling for DNC officers to maintain neutrality in primaries. Kenyatta noted that Hogg said the party is trying to oust him from his position, but the complaint was filed well before he signaled his group would push to primary incumbents. He said the reason this happened now is because the party has due process that allows losing candidates to submit appeals and for him and Hogg to respond. 'I know that this party has to change. It has to change in massive ways. And I did not run because I thought everything was going great. I ran because I thought that we needed to be a Democratic Party that, as I have said now, is focused on working people, working families, and how we're going to make their lives better,' he said. 'That's what we should be doing. That's what I have tried to do.' Hogg told The Washington Post in an interview that he wouldn't engage in a 'back-and-forth about this' and that he doesn't take what people say personally, 'even if they try to make it personal.' 'This is purely about a strategic disagreement, and should be treated as such, because we're all on the same side here. It's about, how do we create the strongest Democratic Party possible?' he said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Malcolm Kenyatta: David Hogg has ‘very casual relationship with the truth'
Democratic National Committee (DNC) Vice Chair Malcolm Kenyatta slammed his fellow vice chair, David Hogg, on Wednesday, disputing the reason the gun control activist has said is why they may need to run for their positions again. Kenyatta argued in an interview on MSNBC that he has tried to ignore what Hogg has been saying recently to avoid party infighting and Democrats divided, but Hogg's statement after the DNC's Credentials Committee voted in favor of holding a new vice chair election 'pushed me over the edge.' 'David has a very casual relationship with the truth,' he told host Symone Sanders Townsend. 'And he has not been truthful on so many points that have been raised on this show.' The Pennsylvania state legislator added that he's 'frustrated' with the decision to hold the election again given that he received considerably more votes than necessary to clinch one of the vice chair positions, but he respects it. 'But David's first statement out of the gate was, here's the Democratic Party doing some maniacal thing to push me out because of what he's doing with his PAC,' Kenyatta said. 'David knows that that is not true.' 'And so for all of the people who have, like I had, really high hopes for what David could bring for this party and who are now looking at the message that he's been pushing out and the e-mails that they have been getting from him about how he wants to reform the party, you have to be honest with people,' he added. The comments came after the Credentials Committee voted on Monday to support nullifying the results of the February election that made Hogg and Kenyatta vice chairs. The decision came as a result of a complaint that a losing candidate for a vice chair position had filed months earlier challenging the procedure in which the election was held. That candidate, Kalyn Free, argued that having a combined ballot for both positions rather than holding the elections separately violated the DNC's rules, to which the committee agreed. A full vote of the DNC is necessary for a new election to be held. But Hogg argued that the decision must be viewed in the context of the backlash he's received for his group, Leaders We Deserve, calling for primary challenges to longtime Democratic incumbents serving in safe Democratic districts. He's called for generational change among Democratic leaders and said he is not supporting challenges to those serving in battleground districts or who have adequately stood up to President Trump. The move has sparked considerable pushback within the party, with DNC Chair Ken Martin calling for DNC officers to maintain neutrality in primaries. Kenyatta noted that Hogg said the party is trying to oust him from his position, but the complaint was filed well before he signaled his group would push to primary incumbents. He said the reason this happened now is because the party has due process that allows losing candidates to submit appeals and for him and Hogg to respond. 'I know that this party has to change. It has to change in massive ways. And I did not run because I thought everything was going great. I ran because I thought that we needed to be a Democratic Party that, as I have said now, is focused on working people, working families, and how we're going to make their lives better,' he said. That's what we should be doing. That's what I have tried to do.' Hogg told The Washington Post in an interview that he wouldn't engage in a 'back and forth about this' and that he doesn't take what people say personally, 'every if they try to make it personal.' 'This is purely about a strategic disagreement, and should be treated as such, because we're all on the same side here. It's about, how do we create the strongest Democratic Party possible?' he said.
