Rep. Seth Moulton and former DNC Vice Chair David Hogg called for Martin’s resignation. Other Democrats sharply criticized his handling of the report.
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin faced backlash from members of his own party, including calls for his resignation, the day after he released the party’s long-delayed 2024 election autopsy and distanced himself from its findings.
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) Moulton told Axios that Martin “should resign,” citing what he called a lack of leadership and an inexcusable delay in publishing the report. The Epoch Times was unable to verify his remarks, and his office did not respond to a request for comment.
Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) said on the May 21 episode of “The Thom Hartmann Program” that “having what we have right now [at the DNC] is not doing it.”
Pocan was responding to a caller who proposed recalling Martin and replacing him with Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas). Pocan said he had endorsed former Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler over Martin in last year’s chair race.
Earlier in the same hour, when asked by a different caller about the autopsy release, Pocan said the DNC had “chosen to not be very useful” and that the party would be better off “if we get a new DNC.”
Former DNC Vice Chair David Hogg said Martin should resign, in a May 21 statement from Leaders We Deserve, the political group Hogg leads.
Hogg called the autopsy and the months-long debate over its release “a demoralizing joke” and said the DNC should select a new leader committed to repairing the Democratic Party brand.
Several other House Democrats offered grim assessments of Martin’s leadership and the DNC’s direction, without explicitly calling for his resignation.
Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas) told Semafor that “there doesn’t seem to be a plan to turn things around” at the DNC and said the clock was ticking on the midterms.
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) told Axios he was “concerned that the DNC appears to be in a state of almost terminal decline.” When asked whether Martin should step down, Torres said it was “not [his] place” to call for that but said the status quo at the committee should alarm Democrats.
Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) told Axios he does not regret backing former Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler over Martin in last year’s chair race.
Other Democrats have stood behind Martin. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who backed Martin’s bid for chair, defended her fellow Minnesotan. Omar told Axios she “worked really hard” to elect Martin and said she was confident he would “find his footing.”
By Chase Smith
