How Ken Martin hopes to shape the future of the Democratic party
DFL Chairman Ken Martin poses for a portrait at the MPR News building on March 1, in St. Paul.
Kerem Yücel | MPR News
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DFL Party Chair Ken Martin has put himself in the running to lead the Democratic National Committee. Martin led the Minnesota DFL for more than a decade and is known as a hard worker, a successful fundraiser and strong party builder.
MPR News correspondent Mark Zdechlik has been covering Martin for years and joined Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to talk about the big announcement and why Martin thinks he is a good fit to lead the DNC.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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Audio transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING] NINA MOINI: Top story this afternoon on Minnesota Now-- DFL Party Chair Ken Martin has put himself in the running to lead the Democratic National Committee. Martin has led the Minnesota DFL for more than a decade and is known as a hard worker, a successful fundraiser, and a strong party builder. Reporter Mark Zdechlik has been covering Martin for years and joins us now to talk about this big announcement. Thanks for being here, Mark.
MARK ZDECHLIK: Absolutely. Good afternoon, Nina.
NINA MOINI: Good afternoon to you. So, again, you've been covering Martin for years. Why does he think he'd be a good fit to lead the DNC?
MARK ZDECHLIK: Well, he can really point to some significant successes during his time at the DFL. He's been an effective fundraiser. When he took the helm, the party was in debt. It's now flourishing and is likely the envy of the Minnesota Republican Party, which has struggled with its own debt. And the organization under Martin has really united, and all of that fundraising prowess and those election victories really point to that.
NINA MOINI: Hmm. And so how did Ken Martin get his start in party politics?
MARK ZDECHLIK: He began his political work in 1990, interning for Paul Wellstone's US Senate campaign. He later worked also as an intern in the senator's official office. He then went on to help organize college campuses for the Clinton-Gore campaign. And then he went to work for the Kansas Democratic Party.
He joined the DFL as an organizer in 1998. In 2000, he served as the deputy director of the state campaign for Gore. Four years later, he helped manage John Kerry's presidential campaign in Minnesota. He took over the leadership of the DFL in 2011, and since then, Nina, the DFL has won every statewide election.
NINA MOINI: So why is this a particularly important time for national Democrats? And how does he think he can help?
MARK ZDECHLIK: Well, you remember way back when we had that election earlier this month? They certainly do.
NINA MOINI: Vaguely.
MARK ZDECHLIK: Yeah, yeah, just vaguely. They do, and they know they need to regroup and figure out why so many voters chose Republican Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris. Was their messaging off? Did they fail to properly market their ideas? Was it the candidate?
They've got a lot of soul searching to do. That's common, Nina, for national Republicans and Democrats after major losses. Martin thinks he can help with that process. He says he can connect with Americans who are unhappy with the Democratic Party. Here's an excerpt from a short video Martin posted on social media today, announcing his DNC Chair campaign.
KEN MARTIN: We are the last of the "Blue Wall" states still standing. And with that, we've passed investments that improved the lives of people-- paid leave, affordable housing and child care, middle class tax relief, reproductive rights, and so much more.
Now, here's the thing. If you're looking for a creature of DC, that's not me. But I do know how the DNC works and how it isn't working. I know how to listen to the voters.
MARK ZDECHLIK: Nina, Martin is well known among national Democratic insiders. He's the President of the Association of State Democratic Chairs. He also serves as Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee.
NINA MOINI: And what have you heard about what it's like to work with Chairman Martin?
MARK ZDECHLIK: I think he's generally well liked. He built a very professional communication staff at the DFL, and I've worked with them for years. And he's been very responsive to MPR News over all these years, never not returning calls, that kind of thing.
NINA MOINI: Sure. So what happens next with the search for someone to lead?
MARK ZDECHLIK: Well, the current chair of the DNC, Jaime Harrison, is not seeking re-election. Several people are in the running for the job, including the leader of the Wisconsin Democratic Party. Martin reportedly has early support. That's not unusual. The move, Nina, likely no surprise to his inner circle of supporters around the country. He's been getting ready to pull the trigger on this, I assume, for quite some time. And now he's got to try to rally support.
NINA MOINI: Well, thanks for being here, Mark. We know you'll stay on top of this for us.
MARK ZDECHLIK: You're very welcome.
NINA MOINI: That's MPR News correspondent Mark Zdechlik. Ken Martin will be joining Tom Crann this afternoon on All Things Considered from 3:00 to 6:00. We'll have that conversation live on air and online, mprnews.org.
MARK ZDECHLIK: Absolutely. Good afternoon, Nina.
NINA MOINI: Good afternoon to you. So, again, you've been covering Martin for years. Why does he think he'd be a good fit to lead the DNC?
MARK ZDECHLIK: Well, he can really point to some significant successes during his time at the DFL. He's been an effective fundraiser. When he took the helm, the party was in debt. It's now flourishing and is likely the envy of the Minnesota Republican Party, which has struggled with its own debt. And the organization under Martin has really united, and all of that fundraising prowess and those election victories really point to that.
NINA MOINI: Hmm. And so how did Ken Martin get his start in party politics?
MARK ZDECHLIK: He began his political work in 1990, interning for Paul Wellstone's US Senate campaign. He later worked also as an intern in the senator's official office. He then went on to help organize college campuses for the Clinton-Gore campaign. And then he went to work for the Kansas Democratic Party.
He joined the DFL as an organizer in 1998. In 2000, he served as the deputy director of the state campaign for Gore. Four years later, he helped manage John Kerry's presidential campaign in Minnesota. He took over the leadership of the DFL in 2011, and since then, Nina, the DFL has won every statewide election.
NINA MOINI: So why is this a particularly important time for national Democrats? And how does he think he can help?
MARK ZDECHLIK: Well, you remember way back when we had that election earlier this month? They certainly do.
NINA MOINI: Vaguely.
MARK ZDECHLIK: Yeah, yeah, just vaguely. They do, and they know they need to regroup and figure out why so many voters chose Republican Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris. Was their messaging off? Did they fail to properly market their ideas? Was it the candidate?
They've got a lot of soul searching to do. That's common, Nina, for national Republicans and Democrats after major losses. Martin thinks he can help with that process. He says he can connect with Americans who are unhappy with the Democratic Party. Here's an excerpt from a short video Martin posted on social media today, announcing his DNC Chair campaign.
KEN MARTIN: We are the last of the "Blue Wall" states still standing. And with that, we've passed investments that improved the lives of people-- paid leave, affordable housing and child care, middle class tax relief, reproductive rights, and so much more.
Now, here's the thing. If you're looking for a creature of DC, that's not me. But I do know how the DNC works and how it isn't working. I know how to listen to the voters.
MARK ZDECHLIK: Nina, Martin is well known among national Democratic insiders. He's the President of the Association of State Democratic Chairs. He also serves as Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee.
NINA MOINI: And what have you heard about what it's like to work with Chairman Martin?
MARK ZDECHLIK: I think he's generally well liked. He built a very professional communication staff at the DFL, and I've worked with them for years. And he's been very responsive to MPR News over all these years, never not returning calls, that kind of thing.
NINA MOINI: Sure. So what happens next with the search for someone to lead?
MARK ZDECHLIK: Well, the current chair of the DNC, Jaime Harrison, is not seeking re-election. Several people are in the running for the job, including the leader of the Wisconsin Democratic Party. Martin reportedly has early support. That's not unusual. The move, Nina, likely no surprise to his inner circle of supporters around the country. He's been getting ready to pull the trigger on this, I assume, for quite some time. And now he's got to try to rally support.
NINA MOINI: Well, thanks for being here, Mark. We know you'll stay on top of this for us.
MARK ZDECHLIK: You're very welcome.
NINA MOINI: That's MPR News correspondent Mark Zdechlik. Ken Martin will be joining Tom Crann this afternoon on All Things Considered from 3:00 to 6:00. We'll have that conversation live on air and online, mprnews.org.
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