Minnesota 'Democratic' Chair Ken Martin and Wisconsin Democratic Chair Ben Wikler are the 2 frontrunners. And it seems that if Ken Martin doesn't get a majority of the votes on the first ballot that Ben Wikler may end up winning the DNC Chair race.
Quotes from: Democrats prepare to elect new national chair amid Trump’s second term - The Washington Post
On Friday, Martin surpassed 200 public endorsements from the nearly 450 DNC members who will decide the race, closing in on the majority needed to prevail outright against his seven competitors.
And
Martin’s closest competition is Ben Wikler, the head of the Wisconsin party. He has claimed to have commitments from at least 183 DNC members, though he has fewer public endorsements than Martin has.
And
Wikler who has the backing of the top two Democrats in Congress, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (New York) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (New York). Jeffries endorsed Wikler on Friday evening with hours left in the race.
“While there are several candidates for DNC Chair who have demonstrated clear-eyed and comprehensive visions for our party’s future, Ben Wikler is best positioned to lead the DNC forward,” Jeffries said in a statement.
And
In endorsing Wikler on Wednesday, former House speaker Nancy Pelosi (California) also praised O’Malley, signaling a potential alliance depending on how balloting progresses.
Quotes from: Democratic National Committee Picks Next Chair: What to Watch For - The New York Times
As of late Friday, Mr. Martin had claimed more than 200 public endorsements, Mr. Wikler had more than 80 and Mr. O’Malley had 31. Each candidate has boasted of private promises of support that are far higher, though those figures are impossible to confirm.
And
Mr. Wikler’s team thinks that if the Minnesotan fails to win on the first ballot, it can win over Mr. O’Malley’s supporters and perhaps peel off some of Mr. Martin’s backers as well.
In addition to the chair election, contests will be held for party posts including vice chair, treasurer and secretary.
Just some perspective:
Notably, the departing chairman, Jaime Harrison, suggested in an exit interview with The Associated Press that the party should not have swapped former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. for former Vice President Kamala Harris atop the ticket last year.
Anyway, back to the horse-race:
Mr. Wikler has scored the backing of some of the largest labor unions, including UNITE HERE, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association and the Service Employees International Union.
He also has support from some big names, including Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the top Democrat in the Senate, Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the top Democrat in the House, and Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the former House speaker. But Mr. Schumer and Ms. Pelosi do not actually have a direct vote. Instead, it is Ms. Pelosi’s daughter Christine who sits on the D.N.C. and whose endorsement of Mr. Wikler merited her own news release from his campaign
And
Mr. Martin founded and has served as president of the Association of State Democratic Committees, a group inside the D.N.C. that has built a power base of state-level officials that he hopes will help him secure victory.
The inside game has its uses. During the Biden Administration, it's easily arguable that AOC was more powerful than FVPOTUS Kamala Harris. On US Domestic Policy, the Biden Administration was mostly doing what AOC and US Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren would want.
And even though AOC was thwarted from being the Ranking Member of US House Oversight, she's now on the US House Energy and Commerce Committee and is on some key Subcommittees on that Committee.
And AOC's tweets and public speeches arguably do more to try to hold the Trump Administration accountable than being the Ranking Member on Oversight might be able to do. US House Energy and Commerce has far more actual power and influence than US House Oversight does (especially for the Minority Party).
And
The party chairman will help set the rules of the 2028 presidential primary election, including determining which states vote first. Iowa held the kickoff caucuses for many years until Mr. Biden moved South Carolina, the state that delivered him the 2020 nomination, to the front of the line.
But there is no guarantee that South Carolina stays there. New Hampshire still has a law requiring it to go first, and all of the candidates for D.N.C. chair have deftly avoided making specific promises on the order of states.
The party chair will also determine the qualifications for debates, which deeply shape the political conversation. The D.N.C. contenders themselves sat through a series of candidate forums that included as many as eight hopefuls, some of whom have little chance of winning.
Still:
https://www.ocasiocortez.com/splash
https://couragetochangepac.org/ (AOC's PAC)
Candidates - Justice Democrats
https://leaderswedeserve.com/ (David Hogg & Kevin Lata founded a group to help young people running for State houses and US Congress)
https://rideshare2vote.com/volunteer/
The DNC Chair race is very important regarding the 2028 Democratic Presidential Primaries and such. But it's also supposed to support Democratic candidates across the United States at the national (US Congress) and State level and give great messaging for the Democratic Party as a whole.