Latest news with #vicechair
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Here are the 4 candidates running for DNC vice chair
Four candidates are vying for two vice chair spots on the Democratic National Committee (DNC) after a majority of members voted earlier this week to redo the election of David Hogg and Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta. Oklahoma DNC committee member Kalyn Free, who lost a bid for vice chair, filed a challenge in February over the way the election was conducted, alleging it unfairly advantaged the male candidates running. DNC members voted 294-99 this week to redo its elections following Free's challenge; Hogg decided to forgo a run for his spot amid swirling controversy over his decision to get involved in Democratic primaries. The DNC is holding two separate votes for vice chair positions: one for a male ballot spot and another ballot in which any gender candidate can run. Kenyatta won the spot on the male ballot on Saturday. Three candidates are vying for a spot on the all-gender ballot this week. Here's what to know about the four candidates running for DNC vice chair: Kenyatta was elected as one of the DNC's vice chairs in February and is running for a second time following Free's challenge. He successfully won reelection on the male ballot spot on Saturday. Kenyatta was initially supposed to compete against Hogg under the male ballot slot, but Hogg withdrew. The Pennsylvania lawmaker was first elected to the Pennsylvania state House in 2018 and represents part of Philadelphia County. He ran in the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic primary in 2022, losing to Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.); more recently, he ran against Pennsylvania Auditor General Tim DeFoor (R), losing to him by single digits. Kenyatta's website touts his barrier-breaking record, including being the first openly LGBTQ candidate of color to be voted into the Pennsylvania Legislature. Kenyatta told The Hill he's traveled to nine states and Germany since being elected vice chair following the initial February election. He noted the DNC has been investing in local races like the Omaha, Neb., mayoral race and building out Democratic infrastructure in states across the country, including red states. 'No candidate when they get into the general election should have to build anything from scratch as it relates to their organizing, their voter outreach, and even some of the media infrastructure,' Kenyatta said. Shasti Conrad is running again to be a DNC vice chair after she lost a bid for one of the spots during the February election. Conrad was named a DNC associate chair by national committee Chair Ken Martin in March, and she also currently heads the Washington State Democratic Party. Her bio touts that she's worked with three Nobel Peace Prize winners; she's also a campaign alum of former President Obama and and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Of particular importance to Conrad is focusing on Democratic caucuses and councils. 'I would really love to see, you know, more engagement, more connectivity with our caucuses and our councils, both at the national level' and among the state parties, she told The Hill. She noted that not all state parties have an Asian American and Pacific Islander caucus, adding she'd support seeing them 'officially organized and regularly meeting and doing the outreach work that we really need to do, you know, with our communities that don't always feel that they can trust the party.' Free is getting another shot at a DNC vice chair slot after successfully challenging the way the national party conducted its vice chair election in February. Free is a member of the Choctaw Nation and serves as a DNC committee member in Oklahoma. She's previously held elected office as a district attorney for the Haskell and Pittsburg counties in the late 1990s. She previously ran for Oklahoma's 2nd Congressional District but was unsuccessful. Free noted a lack of Indigenous representation within DNC leadership, telling The Hill that 'Indian country is critically important, obviously, to me, but it should be important to DNC leadership,' noting lawmakers and politicians have acknowledged that they wouldn't have won their races without the support of Indigenous voters. She also said she's worked on more than 300 campaigns and raised tens of millions of dollars. She said her commitment to the cause was evident in her husband's wedding vows, which she said she wrote. 'My husband vowed to never give aid, comfort, solace, or financial support to any Republican ever running for office. That's how serious I take my Democratic values and how serious I am about building this party.' Jeanna Repass also unsuccessfully sought a vice chair spot the first time around. She currently helms the Kansas Democratic Party and is a former secretary of state candidate in 2022. Repass is both the first Black and Latina woman to lead the Kansas state party, according to the Kansas Democratic Party. During her first run for vice chair, she noted her familiarity with engaging with voters in red states. 'My experience as the chair of the Kansas Democratic Party gives me a unique perspective for how our national party can not only make inroads with voters in red states but also win in these tough elections,' Repass said, according to The Community Voice. Prior to leading the state party, Repass worked in sales and marketing for several radio stations and was a director of urban mission outreach at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, according to The Topeka Capital-Journal. In an interview with State Affairs in March, she also noted a particular focus on rural communities in the state. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. 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CBS News
13-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
DNC panel pushes to scrap David Hogg's vice chair election
Could David Hogg's position as a vice chair of the DNC be in jeopardy? A Democratic National Committee panel on Monday recommended redoing David Hogg and Malcolm Kenyatta's elections to party vice-chair, as Hogg faces a separate intraparty battle over his push to primary some Democratic politicians. The DNC's credentials committee passed a resolution determining that Kenyatta and Hogg's election in February was incomplete due to violations of the party's charter, and the party should hold two new votes with only candidates who previously ran participating. The resolution will now be presented to the entire DNC. Monday's resolution came in response to a challenge brought by Kalyn Free, a Native American committeeperson from Oklahoma who lost to Hogg — a 25-year-old Parkland school shooting survivor best known for his gun control advocacy — in one of the vice chair races. Free alleges that during February's election, the DNC improperly combined two questions and tallied votes together. In doing so, Free argues, the DNC used procedures that gave male candidates an advantage over female candidates, violating the party's charter. During a more than two-hour meeting, committee members debated whether the election violated party rules. Representatives for Hogg and Kenyatta, a Pennsylvania state lawmaker, argued it's up to the DNC chair to interpret whether voting procedures are consistent with the rules. Kenyatta's representatives also argued holding a re-vote under new rules could "disenfranchise" party members who voted in February. Before the vote, committee members rejected a resolution by Christine Pelosi, daughter of House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, to uphold Hogg and Kenyatta's elections. DNC Chair Ken Martin, who was elected earlier this year, said in a statement he is "disappointed to learn that before I became Chair, there was a procedural error in the February Vice Chair Elections." He said he expects DNC members to "resolve this matter fairly." David Hogg ignites DNC controversy While Free's challenge is not related to the controversy surrounding Hogg, it still brought back to the fore Hogg's turbulent tenure as one of the party's top leaders — including an effort by Martin to require party officers like Hogg to remain neutral in primaries. In reaction to Monday's vote, Hogg argued it's "impossible to ignore the broader context of my work to reform the party which loomed large over this vote." "The DNC has pledged to remove me," wrote Hogg. "This vote has provided an avenue to fast track that effort." Hogg has faced pushback over his efforts to mount primary challenges against Democrats he views as "asleep at the wheel" in the fight against President Trump. He says his group, known as Leaders We Deserve, plans to spend $20 million on the effort. The gambit has drawn controversy from Democratic heavyweights who argue the party should remain neutral in primary elections and leaders should not focus their efforts on ousting elected members. Matt Bennett, a Bill Clinton campaign aide who now works for the centrist group Third Way, called it "insane behavior from a DNC official." Martin has argued neutrality is necessary because it avoids the perception that "party insiders could quietly influence outcomes." "Do I have opinions? Of course. But when you lead the institution tasked with calling the balls and strikes, you don't get to also swing the bat," Martin posted on X over the weekend. Hogg has defended the Leaders We Deserve initiative, telling CBS News' Major Garrett last month "we have to show our base right now that we are doing everything we can to fight back against Donald Trump, and that includes holding ourselves accountable."
Washington Post
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
DNC panel finds Hogg and another official weren't properly elected to leadership
A Democratic National Committee panel found that David Hogg and another vice chair were not properly elected earlier this year, setting off a process that could lead to Hogg's ouster amid backlash to his plans to support primary challengers to House Democrats. The Credentials Committee's recommendation will now get a vote from the full DNC membership. If approved, the two vice chair elections will be invalidated and new elections will be held as soon as practicable. The new elections will be limited to the same five candidates who were eligible at the February vote.
