A Democratic National Committee panel on Monday recommended redoing David Hogg and Malcolm Kenyatta’s elections to party vice-chair, as Hogg faces a separate intraparty battle over his push to primary some Democratic politicians.
The DNC’s credentials committee passed a resolution determining that Kenyatta and Hogg’s election in February was incomplete due to violations of the party’s charter, and the party should hold two new votes with only candidates who previously ran participating. The resolution will now be presented to the entire DNC.
Monday’s resolution came in response to a challenge brought by Kalyn Free, a Native American committeeperson from Oklahoma who lost to Hogg — a 25-year-old Parkland school shooting survivor best known for his gun control advocacy — in one of the vice chair races. Free alleges that during February’s election, the DNC improperly combined two questions and tallied votes together. In doing so, Free argues, the DNC used procedures that gave male candidates an advantage over female candidates, violating the party’s charter.
During a more than two-hour meeting, committee members debated whether the election violated party rules. Representatives for Hogg and Kenyatta, a Pennsylvania state lawmaker, argued it’s up to the DNC chair to interpret whether voting procedures are consistent with the rules. Kenyatta’s representatives also argued holding a re-vote under new rules could “disenfranchise” party members who voted in February.
Before the vote, committee members rejected a resolution by Christine Pelosi, daughter of House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, to uphold Hogg and Kenyatta’s elections.
DNC Chair Ken Martin, who was elected earlier this year, said in a statement he is “disappointed to learn that before I became Chair, there was a procedural error in the February Vice Chair Elections.” He said he expects DNC members to “resolve this matter fairly.”
David Hogg ignites DNC controversy
While Free’s challenge is not related to the controversy surrounding Hogg, it still brought back to the fore Hogg’s turbulent tenure as one of the party’s top leaders — including an effort by Martin to require party officers like Hogg to remain neutral in primaries.
In reaction to Monday’s vote, Hogg argued it’s “impossible to ignore the broader context of my work to reform the party which loomed large over this vote.”
“The DNC has pledged to remove me,” wrote Hogg. “This vote has provided an avenue to fast track that effort.”
Hogg has faced pushback over his efforts to mount primary challenges against Democrats he views as “asleep at the wheel” in the fight against President Trump. He says his group, known as Leaders We Deserve, plans to spend $20 million on the effort.
The gambit has drawn controversy from Democratic heavyweights who argue the party should remain neutral in primary elections and leaders should not focus their efforts on ousting elected members. Matt Bennett, a Bill Clinton campaign aide who now works for the centrist group Third Way, called it “insane behavior from a DNC official.”
Martin has argued neutrality is necessary because it avoids the perception that “party insiders could quietly influence outcomes.”
“Do I have opinions? Of course. But when you lead the institution tasked with calling the balls and strikes, you don’t get to also swing the bat,” Martin posted on X over the weekend.
Hogg has defended the Leaders We Deserve initiative, telling CBS News’ Major Garrett last month “we have to show our base right now that we are doing everything we can to fight back against Donald Trump, and that includes holding ourselves accountable.”
