Chairman of the National Democratic Committee Ken Martin stands in front of Woodlawn Coffee and Cake in Portland, Oregon, July 31, 2025 (photo Jacob Fischler/States Newsroom)
Portland, Oregon-Democrats must be more aggressive organizers and activists to regain the coalition of the working class, which they increasingly lost with President Donald Trump, according to the chairman of the National Democratic Commission Ken Martin.
Too often in recent decades, the party has passed on to Republicans, Martin told Martin in a Newsroom in an interview with one on one on July 31 while stopping at a visit to social groups, activists and fundraisers of money in Oregon.
Since 2009, the infrastructure of the National Party has deteriorated, enabling GOP to build organizational benefits throughout the country, to define democratic candidates before they could define and postpone too many states out of reach, he said.
Sometimes more crazy conditions than one could expect from someone with a pure Martin appearance and behavior of the middle west, he said that his task as a party leader is to reverse this trend.
“We are not here to tie one of our hands behind our backs,” said Martin. “In the past I think that our event would bring a pencil to fight the knife. We will introduce weapons to fight the knife.”
The analogy of the fight against the knife was the answer to the question of how democrats should react to Republicans from Texas, which exaggerate the district lines of the Congress when GOP tries to preserve the compact majority of American most of the houses, but it may concern other aspects of Martin’s vision for the party.
Martin, whom the Democrats chose in February to lead them for the next four years, said that Democrats should never turn off their messages and campaigns and work on building party infrastructure in regions, states and cities where they have not competed for decades.
Within 45 minutes he referred to the deceased US senator Paul Wellstone, a liberal, whose populist approach to the campaign and governance practically sanctified him among democrats in native Minnetsota Martin, several times and pointed out that Wellstone would be an effective model for democrats in 2024 and later.
“I think that the American people are looking for people who will get up and fight for what they believe,” he said. “People do not always agree with Paul Wellstone all the time, but they still voted for him. They said …” He is not one of these politicians on his fingers. He stands behind what he believes, and I will tell him recognition for this, even if I do not agree with him in a specific case. ” They want authenticity. “
Texas redistributing
The day after the Republicans of Texas published a map of the proposed recent congress districts in occasional efforts to redistribute in the middle of a decade, which could get five more seats in American homes, he suggested that he would support the leaders of the blue state, who took revenge on their own maps to give democrats-he was Removal of Republicans.
Trump and the Republicans called the redistribution effort “grabbing power”, accusing them of “attempting to release the system.”
“If they can’t win on their own advantages, they will cheat and steal,” he said. “They are basically doing it now.”
But even when Martin condemned these moves, he said that democrats should feel authorized to respond in nature. “We can’t be the only event that plays according to the rules,” he said.
Leading Democrats in California, New York and Illinois openly examined the possibility of emergency redistribution, if the proposed map of Texas became final, even though this problem aroused this problem The anger of some ordinary allies who support less partisan election infrastructure.
Martin said that the national party would be “very involved” in questioning the Texas map, and also working with governors who want to change their own maps.
Never stop the campaign
Martin grew up, unconfirmed, some of the challenges that his party faces.
Twice more voters had an unfavorable view of the Democrats as favorable in the July Dziennik Wall Street Journal questionnaire This showed the party with only 33% of support.
Martin said that voters perceive Republicans as a party of working class voters and democrats as representatives of the elite. In the 2024 election, the party worsened with almost every piece of electorate other than voters with higher education and a wealthy voter.
Martin noticed that Trump had a historical invasion of some conventional democratic electoral districts, winning most of
Martin said that this result was part of a continuous trend of 20 years and is an existential threat to the Democratic Party.
“We lost the land with each part of our coalition,” he said. “If we continue to lose work with employees in this country, with all other parts of our coalition, toast. We must reverse the course.”
Democrats slide with these constituencies is partly a “branding issue”, allowing the party’s readiness to permission to Trump and other republicans outside the year, unanswered, and the lack of positive message expressed by voters, said Martin.
“We did not start our campaign until spring 2024 – much too late,” he said. “I would claim that they have already defined us before we have the opportunity to define. It can never happen again. Never, never, never, it means that we have to campaign all year round.
“We all do better”
This campaign should focus on a positive look at what the Democrats offer to voters and include a reference to “the vast majority of Americans, not just people at the top.”
“We have to fix our brand,” said Martin. “We must give people the feeling that we are fighting for them. We have to get up and fight everything we have now, not only against Donald Trump, but for something. We must give people a positive vision of what their lives would look like with any democrats.”
Martin said that the message of Democrats should consist of the growing tide of all Łódź, quoting Wellstone, for whom 52 -year -old Martin at the beginning of his career and still considers inspiration.
“Remember about Paul’s famous slogans:” We all do better when we all do better, “he said. “This should be the slogan of the Democratic Party.”
He praised Zohran Mamdani, the winner of the Democratic Mayor in New York, for conducting an energy campaign that focused on showing how to improve New Yorkers’s life.
This should include a focused policy on price accessibility, access to healthcare and the government that works for people outside the elite.
But even when Martin expressed a positive message on which he said that the democrats should focus, he slipped into slamming Trump and Republicans, saying that tax and expenses are constrained by Trump’s law Signed last month He would take health care from people. He noticed that the law was one of the least popular for decades.
Martin said there was a place for both a positive campaign and emphasizing the unpopular republicans, said Martin.
“It’s both/and,” he said. “Let’s tell people what is happening, and let’s tell people what democrats are going to do.”
Senate within reach?
. unpopularity With Martin said that the law of Republicans, which, which is to reduce by over 1 trillion of dollars within 10 years from Medicaid, food vouchers and other programs, gives democrats openly in a tough cycle for the US Senate races.
Democrats-who control 47 seats, including two independent ones, compared to 53 for Republicans, who also speak at the vice president of JD Vance-Musz, get four additional places in elections in future elections to win the majority in the chamber, which Martin said that it is possible in appropriate circumstances.
This view is unavailable Current projectionswhich show democratic places in Georgia and Michigan at least the same as republican places in North Carolina and Maine. Democrats would have to win all the four most competitive races, as well as two that would be further episodes to gain the majority.
Apart from North Karolina and Maine Martin, he said that the map of the recovery of the Democrats Senate was traditionally passing the red states.
Iowa, where the current senator Joni Ernst could be sensitive, and Alaska, where former US representative Mary Peltola would be a forceful claimant for the current Republican Dan Sullivan, could be 50 and 51 mandates of the Democrats Senate.
Or, if the right-wing main contenders overcome more in Louisiana and Texas, these countries can turn into a reception, and said Trump easily won both states, by over 20 points in the former.
Developing a party, developing a map
He said that to win next year and later, democrats must unite.
He said that the elements of the party would impose purity tests – regardless of whether they are progressing, excluding moderate or vice versa – they make it tough.
“I think you are winning choices by adding, not subtraction,” he said. “You win by bringing people, new voices and develop your coalition.”
Martin also wants to develop a map and compete throughout the country, using the pioneering strategy by the former chairman of DNC Howard Dean, who was the chairman in 2005–2009.
When the political team of President Barack Obama took control of the party apparatus in 2009, “completely looked” that he built the dean of the state party infrastructure, said Martin.
At the beginning of this year he announced the initiative to ensure at least $ 1 million per month To all state sides. The goal is to raise the number of competitive states and districts, withdrawing the trend in which fewer presidential competitions are focused on fewer states.
“There is no such thing as the eternal state of red or eternal blue state,” he said. He said that the transformation of countries from republican claims into competitive or from competition into the favor of democrats – and even to maintain democratic strength – requires investment of money and energy.
“It is critical and it is something I believe in,” he said. For many years I have seen our national party and other party committees that do not make an investment to name themselves a national party, “he said.” You can’t be a national party if you compete in seven states. “
