With the start of February, the election for Democrats to determine their next chairman gets closer and closer.
A slew of Democratic party operatives and politicians are lining up to make their case as to why they should lead their party through the Donald Trump era. Having lost the presidency, as well as being in the minority in both houses of Congress, Democrats need someone to lead them out of the wilderness.
The race has began to get more heated as major Democratic party leaders begin to endorse candidates. It feels almost reminiscent of the 2016 Democratic presidential primary between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Clinton supporters are drawn to the more mainstream, moderate Tom Perez, who severed as Secretary of Labor in the Obama administration. Sanders supporters are drawn to the fiery Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, the first Muslim elected to Congress.
While Perez and Ellison have emerged as the frontrunners, a series of smaller, less well-known candidates have assembled to challenge them. Among them are South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, New Hampshire Democratic Chairman Ray Buckley, South Carolina Democratic Chairman Jaimie Harrison and Idaho Democratic Party Executive Sally Boynton Brown.
The race may prove divisive for the party as Perez and Ellison are set to advance as the top finalists. Prominent Democrats are splitting their votes between them. This week, Vice President Joe Biden endorsed Perez while former Vice President and 1984 presidential nominee Walter Mondale endorsed Ellison (http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/03/politics/walter-mond...).
The chairman of a political party is designed to fundraise as well as advocate for the party. They also play a role in organizing debates and primary elections. The party of the incumbent president typically has its chairman selected by the president. President Trump selected Michigan Chairman Ronna Romney McDaniels as the new head of the GOP last month. The party that is out of power chooses their chairman via popular vote.
The party's former chairman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, resigned this past summer after leaked emails from the DNC show that she showed favoritism towards Clinton in the presidential primary (https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/25/us/politics/deb...). The party's interim chairman, CNN commentator Donna Brazile, also is set to leave after allegations that she leaked debate questions to the Clinton campaign ahead of time(http://money.cnn.com/2016/10/31/media/donna-brazil...).
The election is set for February 25 when party members gather in Atlanta. Various state party chairs and committee members are the ones who will cast their vote to determine the next leader of their party(http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/23/...).
