Ken Martin, the chair of the Minnesota DFL party introduces Amy Klobuchar to the people attending the Minnesota DemocraticFarmerLabor Party (DFL) election watch party held at the InterContinental Hotel in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States on Novem (Getty Images)
(FOX 9) – Ken Martin, the Democratic Party‘s leader in Minnesota, was elected as the next chair of the Democratic National Committee.
Ken Martin elected Chair of the DNC
What they’re saying:
During the nomination, Martin, 51, said “We got punched in the mouth in November. It’s time to get off the mat, dust ourselves off and get back in this fight.”
Martin also said during the nomination that “Democrats need to ask ourselves each day, whose side are we on? Are we on the side of the robber baron, the ultra-wealthy billionaire, the oil and gas polluter, the union buster? Or are we on the side of the American working family?”
A written statement was shared by newly-elected DNC Chair Ken Martin on Saturday:
“The Democratic Party is the party of working people, and it’s time to roll up our sleeves and outcompete everywhere, in every election, and at every level of government — and I look forward to working with this next generation of leadership to build a Party to unite America. Today’s elections mark a new chapter in DNC leadership, and Donald Trump and his billionaire allies are put on notice: we will hold them accountable for ripping off working families, and we will beat them at the ballot box.”
By the numbers:
Here are the voting results of the election:
Ken Martin – 246.5
Ben Wikler – 134.5
Martin O’Malley – 44
Abstain – 4
Faiz Shakir – 2
Jason Paul – 1
There were 428 votes cast, according to the chair.
The backstory:
The vote was held at the DNC winter meeting in suburban Washington.
Martin’s top challenger was Wisconsin party chair Ben Wikler.
Also running for DNC chair were former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, former Bernie Sanders presidential campaign manager Faiz Shakir and author and activist Marianne Williamson.
Williamson surprised DNC members before voting began by endorsing Martin as “our best chance to cut the court with the billionaire-funded corruption that will otherwise obstruct and limit our possibilities.”
Martin is the first white man to lead the DNC since 2011.
Local perspective:
DNC officials say Martin has served in the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) since 2011, which makes him the longest-serving Chair in the 75-year history of the DFL.
He is credited with turning the DFL into a “party dedicated to organizing communities, empowering the grassroots, electing progressive candidates, and improving the lives of Minnesota.”
Martin has spent 20 years in politics, working in the Mark Dayton for Minnesota Governor campaign in 2010, Hatch for Minnesota Governor in 2006, John Kerry for President in 2004, Humphrey for Secretary of State in 2002 and Gore for President in 2000.
He also led the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment campaign in 2008, which dedicated funding to the arts, environment, conservation, and parks and trails in Minnesota, the largest conservation finance measure in the United States to become law.
The Source: Reports from the Associated Press, live streams of the voting results and written statements from the Democratic Party.