A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The next chair of the Democratic National Committee will have their work cut out for them.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Yeah, the party lost control of the White House and the Senate and failed to retake control of the House of Representatives. They're also out of power in most states. Over the next two days, top DNC members will meet in Washington to discuss rules for picking new leadership and reflect on 2024.
MARTÍNEZ: NPR's Stephen Fowler has been talking with Democrats across the country about last month's election results and also about what might come next.
So Stephen, the future of the Democratic Party is probably not going to be solved in the next few months, but its leader will be. What's that process going to look like?
STEPHEN FOWLER, BYLINE: So today, the DNC rules and bylaws committee meets. It's going to be very mundane. They're working through logistical things like how many signatures you need to be nominated for these positions, key deadlines and other procedural stuff. There's also going to be four forums for leadership candidates in January ahead of the vote, both virtually and in person, for people to make their pitch ahead of the vote February 1. It's important to note, A, that those with a say here are not everyday Democrats, but rather about 450 Democratic lawmakers, elected committee members, activists and state party chairs, like the head of the Mississippi Democrats state representative Cheikh Taylor. He told me this week, it's also important to note that Democrats aren't in the White House or in control of either Chamber of Congress.
CHEIKH TAYLOR: And that means that the next DNC chairman will be able to rule this party carte blanche, which is actually pretty exciting if you choose the right person.
MARTÍNEZ: So with that kind of power, though, I mean, what do these Democrats want from their next party chair?
FOWLER: The last few election cycles have seen the national party fade in relevance and strategy. Campaigns and super PACs have taken the lead in highly specific and very expensive battleground races. But Taylor is one of several Dems that I've spoken with who say that there's growing recognition that the DNC has to invest more into things, like year-round organizing and candidate recruitment and fundraising, and to help state parties, especially in Republican-controlled states, with those efforts, too. That's an area that Shasti Conrad, chair of the Washington State Democrats, says she wants to focus on as she runs for a vice chair position.
SHASTI CONRAD: We have got to move the money out of the beltway. It cannot just stay in the same sort of consultant class that have been getting it wrong over and over and over again.
FOWLER: There's also a feeling among a lot of party leaders I've spoken with that the next DNC chair needs to be someone with experience leading that type of always-on campaigning style, so it is no surprise that two of the leading candidates are current state party chairs as well. That's Ken Martin of Minnesota and Ben Wikler of Wisconsin.
MARTÍNEZ: Stephen, I mean, right after the election, there was a lot of finger-pointing about what went wrong and what could be changed. So it's been a month. How are Democrats feeling now?
FOWLER: It depends on who you ask. Electing a new head of the party is not going to magically solve the political issues laid bare in November's election. But a look under the hood shows that 2024 did not create a mandate for Republicans or sound a death knell for Democrats. I mean, control of the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives came down to a very, very small number of votes spread across a very few number of districts and areas. Also, A, Donald Trump is Donald Trump. Democrats already have nearly a decade's worth of a playbook they feel they can use to win back more voters - both Democrats that stayed home and those that might have voted for a Republican this time.
MARTÍNEZ: That's NPR's Stephen Fowler in Atlanta. Stephen, good to talk to you again.
FOWLER: Thank you.
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