“He should resign”: DNC chair Ken Martin’s stock plummets on Capitol Hill over 2024 autopsy

Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin is facing a surge of anger and even some calls to resign from congressional Democrats following the release of the DNC’s 2024 election autopsy on Thursday.

Why it matters: The chaotic handling of the report builds on concerns among Democrats about Martin’s leadership and the DNC’s anemic fundraising numbers compared to its GOP counterpart.

• “He should resign,” Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) told Axios, citing “his lack of leadership” and saying it is “utterly nuts it took us this long to release the autopsy.”
• In a radio interview Thursday, Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.) said in response to a caller who argued Martin should be replaced: “I agree. … Having what we have right now is not doing it.”
• Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas) told Semafor that “there doesn’t seem to be a plan to turn things around and the clock is ticking … I believe it’s time for him to move on.”

Driving the news: The DNC released what it says was its full, unredacted 2024 autopsy after months of pressure on Martin, who had initially signaled he would not release it.

• Martin said in a Substack post accompanying the report that he is “not proud of this product; it does not meet my standards and it won’t meet your standards.”
• The report contains errors and self-correcting annotations, and it lacks a concluding section on what went wrong in 2024, per Axios’ Alex Thompson and Holly Otterbein.
• Martin wrote in his post that he “didn’t want to create a distraction. Ironically, in doing so, I ended up creating an even bigger distraction. And for that, I sincerely apologize.”

What they’re saying: Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) told Axios he “does not regret” his decision to back former Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Ben Wikler for the DNC chairmanship over Martin last year.

• “I just think the whole thing is odd, saying we’re going to this thing and we’ll release it, and then you don’t release it and then you do release it, it doesn’t give much confidence,” Rep. Christian Menefee (D-Texas) told Axios.
• Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) said he is “concerned that the DNC appears to be in a state of almost terminal decline.”
• Asked whether Martin should resign, Torres said it is “not my place, but … the status quo at the DNC should be cause for alarm for every Democrat in the country.”

What we’re hearing: Another House Democrat told Axios the internal chatter surrounding the release of the report on Thursday was more of a “roar” because it was done “during a week we were winning.”

• “Now [we] aren’t because of him,” they said.
• This lawmaker and several others predicted more statements to come from their colleagues demanding Martin’s resignation.
• One House Democrat told Axios the DNC needs “new leadership” and is mulling a public call for Martin to step down.

Yes, but: Martin still has his fair share of Capitol Hill defenders — including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who told Axios she believes he should stay on as DNC chair.

• “He has a lot of leadership. I think it’s time for the party to get closer to him,” said Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.), who briefly considered a run for DNC chair last year.
• Progressive Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who backed Wikler in 2025, lamented the lack of any mention of the Israel-Palestine conflict in the report but praised Martin for “his work on getting rid of super PACs.”
• Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) said she “worked really hard” to make Martin the DNC chair, acknowledging “the DNC has had its challenges” but that she is “sure he’ll find his footing.”

The intrigue: Neither of the congressional Democratic leaders offered substantive comments on the autopsy report Thursday afternoon, according to reporter Michael Jones.

• House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said he got a heads up about the report but hadn’t had a chance to read it yet, adding that as soon as he has “an opportunity to read it, I’ll have more to say.”
• Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) reportedly said: “I’ve been kind of busy.”

The bottom line: Martin’s job depends on the opinions of DNC members, who so far have given no indication they are ready to abandon him en masse.

المصدر: Axios