The internal turmoil at the Democratic National Committee has alarmed some top Democrats, who worry the national party organization is not well positioned to make gains in this year’s midterms elections.
“Obviously, the amount of money they’re raising is alarming,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut), a potential 2028 contender who has been stumping for Democratic candidates ahead of November.
The DNC has been plagued by money woes since Kamala Harris’ loss in the 2024 presidential election. The committee even put its physical headquarters in Washington, D.C., up for collateral last year in order to obtain a $15 million line of credit to help invest in off-year elections, NOTUS reported over the weekend.
Ken Martin, the chair of the DNC, is facing growing scrutiny. He was the subject of an internal human resources inquiry after throwing a cell phone in the direction of a young aide in early July, though the phone did not hit the staffer. Then there’s the promised and botched 2024 election autopsy Martin apologized for earlier this year, and many in the party blame Martin for the DNC’s paltry fundraising numbers.
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Most elected Democrats are holding their fire on Martin for now, even as they acknowledge issues with the organization under his leadership.
“In a year like this, where there is such enthusiasm among rank-and-file Democratic voters and voters generally, you obviously want to have the strongest organizational footing possible, and so I’m concerned about that,” Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) told NOTUS.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nevada) said that she was “concerned” but believed it was “up to the DNC to decide how they want to handle.”
Potential 2028 Democratic presidential contenders are so far staying mum. Representatives for Harris, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California) did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“You know, I think they’re struggling,” Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Michigan), another potential 2028 candidate, told NOTUS. “Like, Democrats have been struggling. We’re still struggling. A year and a half later.”
Sen. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey), who’s also been mentioned as a possible White House contender, said Martin started the job with some “tremendous challenges.”
“He inherited a DNC that had tremendous problems,” Booker said. “He inherited a DNC that was in debt, and he inherited a party that does not have a central leader that we’re all looking to.”
But Booker did draw the line at Martin’s reported treatment of the junior aide.
“You should not throw things at staff,” he said.
But the drip, drip, drip of bad news about Martin did prompt some calls for him to step aside.
“As Democrats, we have become too captured by failing strategies,” Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-California) wrote in an X post on Sunday, calling on Martin to step down from his post. “We must fail forward, and pivot. The urgency of this moment will not reward—and our children will not forgive—torpidity.”
Rufus Gifford, a former aide to President Joe Biden who served as finance director for Barack Obama’s presidential reelection campaign, said that under Martin’s leadership, the DNC is “spiraling towards irrelevance,” its staff is losing faith, and there is “no saving Martin’s chairmanship.”
Shannon Watts, an author and political activist who served as a member of the DNC’s finance committee in 2024, said she has heard from frustrated donors and lawmakers who have complained about Martin.
“I’ve heard from very wealthy donors that they are done with the DNC and that they’re sitting on donations and giving to individual candidates,” Watts told NOTUS. “And the Congress members who have reached out to me have just expressed frustration because they’ve brought ideas to Ken and he’s just sort of strung them along and never acted on them.”
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