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Ken Martin

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For other people named Ken Martin, see Kenneth Martin (disambiguation).

Ken Martin
Martin in 2020
Chair of the Democratic National Committee
Incumbent
Assumed office
February 1, 2025
Preceded byJaime Harrison
Chair of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party
Incumbent
Assumed office
February 5, 2011
Preceded byBrian Melendez
Personal details
Born
Kenneth Nathan Martin

(1973-07-17) July 17, 1973 (age 51)
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseJennifer O'Rourke
Children2
EducationUniversity of Kansas (BA)

Kenneth Nathan Martin[1] (born July 17, 1973) is an American politician from Minnesota serving as chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Martin is also chairman of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party[2] and president of the Association of State Democratic Committees, and was previously a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee.[3]

Early life and education

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Martin was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on July 17, 1973. He attended Eden Prairie High School and graduated from the University of Kansas in 1996 with a BA in political science and history.[3] Martin's deep involvement in student government and campus life led Chancellor Robert Hemenway to present him with the Donald K. Alderson Memorial Award, which recognizes a graduating senior whose campus involvement benefited fellow students and the greater good.[citation needed]

Career

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Martin started his political work in 1990 as an intern for Minnesota U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone's campaign and later interned in his official office.[4] In 1992, Martin organized college campuses throughout the South for the Clinton/Gore campaign.[5] After college, he worked in Kansas politics helping with the Kansas Democratic Coordinated Campaign as field director for the Kansas Democratic Party.[6]

In 1998, Martin moved back to Minnesota and served as the political and field director for the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party. He served as the deputy Minnesota State Director for the Gore campaign in 2000 and in 2002 was the campaign manager for secretary of state candidate Buck Humphrey. In 2004, Martin helped manage John Kerry's presidential campaign in Minnesota.[7]

From 2001 to 2005, Martin served as the policy aide for Ramsey County commissioner Susan Haigh. He served as the executive assistant to Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch and helped run his 2006 campaign for governor.[8] Working with the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters, he led an effort on behalf of the building trades to pass prevailing wage ordinances with local governments throughout Minnesota.[9]

In 2008, Martin led the campaign that passed the Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Amendment (Legacy Amendment) to the Minnesota Constitution.[10]

Martin later served as the executive director of WIN Minnesota, a donor collaborative that helped develop, fund, and direct independent expenditures during the 2010 election cycle.[11] After the election, Governor Mark Dayton tapped Martin to direct Dayton's successful recount effort,[12] ushering in Minnesota's first Democratic governor in 24 years.

After his 2010 campaign, Dayton asked Martin to serve as the chairman of the Minnesota DFL Party. He was elected unanimously in February 2011.[citation needed] In 2017, Martin was elected by his peers throughout the nation as president of the Association of State Democratic Committees and became a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee.[11] On February 1, 2025, he was elected Democratic National Committee chair.[13]

Minnesota DFL chair

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Martin in 2016

When Martin was elected chair of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party in 2011, he inherited a state party deeply in debt[14] after significant election losses, including losing the majority in the state senate for the first time in 40 years, the majority in the House of Representatives, and one of the longest-held Democratic seats in Congress with the defeat of Jim Oberstar in Minnesota's 8th congressional district.[15]

In the 2012 Minnesota elections, the DFL regained majorities in both houses of the state legislature;[16] Minnesota became the first state to defeat a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage;[17] a voter ID constitutional amendment was defeated;[18] and DFL nominee Rick Nolan won in the 8th congressional district.[19]

In 2014, Governor Dayton and U.S. Senator Al Franken were reelected.[20] Each had first been elected by a margin of less than 1% of the vote.[21]

In 2016, Minnesota was one of only two Midwestern states to vote for the Democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton.[22] In addition, despite losses of rural congressional seats throughout the country, the DFL won all three of its rural congressional races, reelecting Nolan, Tim Walz, and Collin Peterson.[23]

Martin in 2017

In 2018, Walz was elected governor, marking the first time the DFL had had three consecutive terms in the governor's office.[24] In addition, the DFL won every constitutional office; won back the majority in the State House of Representatives;[25] flipped two congressional seats from red to blue, one of which had been held by Republicans for over 40 years; and elected two women to the U.S. Senate, Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith,[26] becoming only the fifth state to be represented by two women in the Senate simultaneously.[27]

Martin in 2020

After coming within 1.5% of winning Minnesota in 2016, Donald Trump's campaign heavily invested in winning Minnesota in 2020.[28][29] These investments included millions in advertising and over 60 campaign staffers.[30] With the DFL's influence, Democratic nominee Joe Biden won Minnesota with 52.40% of the vote to Trump's 45.28%.[31] Tina Smith was also reelected to the Senate, the DFL held the State House of Representatives and the two congressional seats the party flipped from red to blue in 2018, and it flipped three Republican-held State Senate seats.[32]

On February 6, 2021, Martin was elected to a sixth term as chairman of the DFL Party,[33] making him the longest-serving chairman in the party's 75-year history.[34] The Star Tribune noted that the DFL had recently seen a slew of wins statewide and raised around three times as much funding as the state Republican Party in his first 10 years as chair. By the time of Martin's reelection, the Minnesota DFL had $2.5 million in the bank compared to the Republicans' $55,000.[33]

DNC vice chair

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In 2017, Martin was elected by his peers nationwide as president of the Association of State Democratic Chairs (ASDC),[35] and thereby became a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC).[36] On January 21, 2021, Martin was unanimously reelected president of the ASDC.[37] Upon his reelection, Martin pledged to continue "our important work of strengthening Democratic infrastructure across America".[37]

DNC chair

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Further information: 2025 Democratic National Committee chairmanship election

After Kamala Harris lost to Donald Trump in the 2024 United States presidential election, Martin announced his intention to run for chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Some press called him the front-runner in the race.[38] He was elected on February 1, 2025, receiving 246.5 votes out of 428 cast on the first ballot.[39]

Personal life

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Martin lives in Eagan, Minnesota, with his wife, Jennifer O'Rourke, and two sons.[40] He is active in youth sports in Eagan, where he has served on the Eagan Athletic Association board of directors and as president of the Eagan Basketball Association.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ "Application to Minnesota State Arts Board". Retrieved February 2, 2025.
  2. ^ "Ken Martin". Minnesota DFL. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Chairman". The Minnesota DFL. Archived from the original on July 31, 2019. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  4. ^ Glueck, Katie (February 1, 2025). "Who Is Ken Martin, the New Leader of the D.N.C.?". New York Times. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  5. ^ Radelat, Ana (January 7, 2025). "Ken Martin makes pitch to labor at forum for DNC party chair". MinnPost. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  6. ^ Moini, Nina; Zdechlik, Mark; Kuznetsov, Aleesa (November 19, 2024). "How Ken Martin hopes to shape the future of the Democratic party". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  7. ^ "John Kerry-Minnesota Campaign Organization". p2004.org.
  8. ^ "Ken Martin elected new DFL chairman". February 5, 2011.
  9. ^ Nesterak, Max (January 30, 2025). "Ken Martin just wants to win". Minnesota Reformer. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  10. ^ "Minnesota's Legacy Amendment: Whose legacy is it?". MinnPost. February 5, 2014.
  11. ^ a b Vakil, Caroline (February 1, 2025). "What to know about Ken Martin, the next chair of the DNC". The Hill. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  12. ^ "Dayton's raised more than $1 million for recount". Star Tribune.
  13. ^ Schneider, Elena (February 1, 2025). "Ken Martin elected DNC chair as party seeks to rebuild". POLITICO. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  14. ^ rachelsb (July 31, 2012). "Minnesota DFL and Republican parties report more debt than cash". Star Tribune. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  15. ^ Scheck, Tom (December 10, 2010). "Brian Melendez stepping down as chair of DFL Party". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  16. ^ Scheck, Tom; Nelson, Tim; Vogel, Jennifer (November 7, 2012). "Democrats win Minnesota House, Senate". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  17. ^ "Minnesota voters reject marriage amendment | MPR News". www.mprnews.org. November 7, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  18. ^ Pugmire, Tim; Aslanian, Sasha (November 7, 2012). "Marriage, voter ID amendment efforts fail". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  19. ^ Zdechlik, Mark; Friedrich, Alex; Kraker, Dan (November 6, 2012). "Nolan defeats Cravaack in 8th District". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  20. ^ Zdechlik, Mark (November 4, 2014). "US Senate: Franken wins quickly this time". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  21. ^ "MN Election Results". electionresults.sos.state.mn.us. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  22. ^ "Results: Hillary Clinton Wins". New York Times. August 1, 2017. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  23. ^ "Minnesota Secretary Of State - 2016 General Election Results". www.sos.state.mn.us. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  24. ^ Coolican, J. Patrick (November 6, 2018). "Tim Walz defeats Jeff Johnson in high-stakes election for Minnesota governor". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on January 29, 2020. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  25. ^ Bierschbach, Briana (November 6, 2018). "DFL retakes Minnesota House; MN Senate stays with GOP". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  26. ^ "Minnesota Secretary Of State - 2018 General Election Results". www.sos.state.mn.us. Archived from the original on April 10, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  27. ^ Salisbury, Bill (December 14, 2017). "Minnesota joins states with 2 women senators". Pioneer Press. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  28. ^ "The 10 Closest States in the 2016 Election". U.S. News. November 14, 2016.
  29. ^ "Why Donald Trump Thinks He Can Flip Minnesota". Time. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  30. ^ "Trump Campaign Says It's Putting More Money Into Minnesota". Bloomberg.com. October 24, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  31. ^ "Minnesota Secretary Of State - 2020 General Election Results". www.sos.state.mn.us. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  32. ^ "Home - Election Results". electionresults.sos.state.mn.us. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  33. ^ a b "Ken Martin, unopposed for Minnesota DFL chair, still sees headwinds". Star Tribune. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  34. ^ "DFL re-elects Ken Martin to 6th term as party chairman". KTOE News. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  35. ^ "ASDC". 10.31.15.92. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  36. ^ "DNC Announces New Officer Roles and Responsibilities Including Ken Martin of Minnesota as Vice Chair". 2020 Presidential Campaign Blog. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  37. ^ a b "DFL chair reelected to lead Association of State Democratic Committees". KSTP. January 21, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  38. ^ "Ken Martin emerges as early front-runner in race to lead Democrats as DNC chair". POLITICO. December 1, 2024. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  39. ^ "Ken Martin wins election as the next chair of the Democratic National Committee". NBC News. February 1, 2025.
  40. ^ "Veteran political operative Ken Martin will seek state DFL post". St. Paul Pioneer Press. December 13, 2010. Archived from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
[edit]
Party political offices
Preceded by Chair of the Minnesota Democratic Party
2011–2025 		Vacant
Preceded by Chair of the Democratic National Committee
2025–present 		Incumbent
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