EXCLUSIVE — The Democratic National Committee won’t seek to remove Vice Chairman David Hogg from leadership for now if the young activist carries out his effort to primary challenge sitting lawmakers.
DNC Chairman Ken Martin told the Washington Examiner in an exclusive interview that while party leadership should remain neutral in Democrat versus Democrat contests, he has no “intention” of forcing Hogg’s ouster if he defies the directive.
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“No, that’s not my intention here. I like David Hogg. I think he’s an amazing young leader,” Martin said. “I hope he stays as a party officer.”
The Washington Examiner‘s interview came shortly after Martin announced earlier Thursday that “no DNC officer should ever attempt to influence the outcome of a primary election.”
Martin and Hogg were elected by a frustrated Democratic Party earlier this year after the party lost power in Congress and the White House to President Donald Trump.
Hogg’s solution is to activate young voters and the base by launching a primary initiative to spend $20 million on electing younger politicians through his organization, Leaders We Deserve.
The Democratic Party traditionally supports incumbents and spends money on beating Republicans rather than its own members. Notably, Martin unveiled a new plan Thursday to invest a million dollars monthly in all 50 state parties, with $17,500 going to officials in blue states and $22,500 going to officials in red states.
“Our role is to serve as stewards of a fair, open, and trusted process, not to tilt the scales,” Martin said.
Hogg has shown no signs of backing down.
“If they decide to remove me, I don’t take it personally. This is a strategic disagreement here,” Hogg told Semafor soon after Martin’s initial comments began spreading.
The current neutrality pledge, which Martin is expected to unveil during a DNC membership call Thursday afternoon, bars leaders from weighing in on the presidential primary, while the expanded version would also bar leaders from intervening in congressional primaries. The DNC will reportedly formalize the neutrality pledge at its August meeting.
“When you’re a party officer, whether you like it or not, you have to stay out of primaries,” Martin said. “We have to have a policy that’s consistent across the board. Otherwise, it erodes trust among young people. It erodes trust among other people.”
Martin, who served as DNC vice chairman, pointed to Democratic frustrations during the 2016 presidential primary as one reason the neutrality pledge was necessary.
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“In ’16, people were so frustrated when they saw party leaders putting their thumb on the scale to support, you know, particular candidates,” Martin explained.
“At the end of the day, the best thing the party can do is create an environment where whether you’re young, you’re old, you’re Left, you’re Right, you’re black, you’re brown, you’re white, you’re gay, you’re straight, whatever you are in this party, you have an opportunity to compete,” Martin continued. “And it’s not the party’s job, as I said, to be both referee and player.”