State Senator James Skoufis ended his month-long bid to be the next chair of the Democratic National Committee last week and promptly endorsed Minnesota Democratic Party Chair Ken Martin for the job.
“Soon after November’s disastrous results, I did what I did when I was 25 and wanted to make an impact on my community – I took a breath and jumped into the race for DNC Chair. In doing so, I brought everything I know from my experience winning eight elections by large margins in deep red territory,” Skoufis said in a statement. “While starting as a complete unknown outside of New York, I am proud of our aggressive campaign to deliver major change to the DNC and national party. Our message resonated with the large majority of DNC members who believe we can rebuild our party, rebuild trust with disaffected voters, refocus on working class priorities, and never cede even an inch of ground to Republicans. As an outsider, I didn’t enter this contest with any DNC relationships, but leave it having driven much of the debate and having left deep impressions with both supporters and many uncommitted DNC members. I’m humbled by and thankful for the party faithful who believed in our truth-telling campaign.”
On X, Skoufis called Martin “a man of integrity” and said “I have deep respect for his vision, charisma, guts and undefeated record in statewide races. I know that he, like me, is laser-focused on winning, not spinning”. He continued: “I endorse Ken in the strongest possible terms and will use my time between now and February 1 to make sure he’s our next chair.”
In a statement released by Martin, he praised Skoufis as “an effective, fresh messenger who has built the diverse coalitions needed to help Democrats win in deep red districts. He is an invaluable asset to today’s Democratic Party,” adding he’s “thankful for his endorsement and honored to have him as an advocate for my campaign”.
The 2025 Democratic National Committee chairmanship election will be held on February 1, at the party’s winter meeting in National Harbor, Maryland.