Ken Martin and Kamala Harris were winners Saturday. Billionaires and the old guard took a hit.

By Adam Wren, Lisa Kashinsky and Brakkton Booker

02/01/2025

Top Democratic elected officials and billionaire donors found out they don’t have much pull at the Democratic National Committee, where party insiders on Saturday chose a steady hand — Ken Martin — over their preferred choice for chair.

Neither Martin nor the pick of much of the establishment, Ben Wikler of Wisconsin, were promising a major overhaul of the party. And in selecting Martin, Democrats did little to answer some of the deepest questions their party faces as they search for a path out of the political wilderness.

Instead, inside a hotel ballroom at National Harbor in Maryland on Saturday, Democrats elected Martin, a longtime tactician and Minnesota state party leader who served as a vice chair of the Harris-Walz campaign. Notably, Martin said during his campaign for chair that the party already has “the right message.”

Democrats may be convinced they had it all along, despite the party’s defeat last year. One politician who appeared to have plenty of juice inside the DNC on Saturday was Kamala Harris.

Here are five takeaways from a contest that wasn’t defined by ideological differences or big-name candidates, but by old school politicking.

Read the story in Politico HERE