Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair election, 2017

On the weekend of February 24, 2017, the more than 400 members of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) elected former Labor Secretary Tom Perez to succeed interim Chairwoman Donna Brazile. Brazile took over the position after former chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.) resigned during the 2016 elections. At that time, leaked emails appeared to show Wasserman Schultz and DNC officials strategizing to promote Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and hurt rival Bernie Sanders.

Other candidates for the position included Congressman Keith Ellison (D-Minn.); Idaho Democratic Party executive director Sally Boynton Brown; mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg; and political strategist Jehmu Greene.

New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Raymond Buckley was in the running but dropped out on February 18, 2017, to endorse Ellison. On February 23, 2017, South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Jaime Harrison dropped out of the race and endorsed Perez.

Background

See also: Democratic National Committee

Democratic National Committee

The DNC is the governing body of the Democratic Party and consists of around 440 voting members, most of whom are affiliated with state Democratic parties. The Democratic Party's charter recognizes the following six responsibilities for the DNC:

“

Issuing the Call to the National Convention; Conducting the Party's Presidential campaign; Filling vacancies in the nominations for the office of President and Vice President; Formulating and disseminating statements of Party policy; Providing for the election or appointment of a Chairperson, five Vice Chairpersons, one of whom shall be the President of the Association of State Democratic Chairs and one of whom shall be the Vice Chairperson for Civic Engagement and Voter Participation, a Treasurer, a Secretary, a National Finance Chair and other appropriate officers of the National Committee, who with the exception of the Chairperson and the President of the Association of State Democratic Chairs, shall be as equally divided as practicable according to gender, and for the filling of vacancies, all in accordance with Rules of Procedure adopted by the Democratic National Committee; and All other actions necessary or appropriate in order to carry out the provisions of this Charter and the objectives of the Democratic Party.

”

Position of chair

The chair of the DNC is charged with carrying out the party's policies and overseeing the Democratic National Convention. One of the main functions of the party chair is to raise money for the party and to direct where that money is spent in local, state, and federal races. The 2017 chair race was notable because it was the first contested chair race since 2005. When Democrats have controlled the White House, a Democratic president typically recommends a chair and the party members approve that choice.

Process of electing the chair

According to the bylaws of the Democratic National Committee, the election of a chair must take place at a full committee meeting held when there is a vacancy in the chairmanship or held after a presidential election and before March 1 of the next year. The chair is elected with a majority of votes from the committee members.

Historical chairs

Below is a historical list of past and present chairs of the DNC. Click [show] to see the full list:

Chair	Term	State
Benjamin F. Hallett	1848–1852	Massachusetts
Robert Milligan McLane	1852–1856	Maryland
David Allen Smalley	1856–1860	Vermont
August Belmont	1860–1872	New York
Augustus Schell	1872–1876	New York
Abram Stevens Hewitt	1876–1877	New York
William H. Barnum	1877–1889	Connecticut
Calvin Stewart Brice	1889–1892	Ohio
William F. Harrity	1892–1896	Pennsylvania
James K. Jones	1896–1904	Arkansas
Thomas Taggart	1904–1908	Indiana
Norman E. Mack	1908–1912	New York
William F. McCombs	1912–1916	New York
Vance C. McCormick	1916–1919	Pennsylvania
Homer S. Cummings	1919–1920	Connecticut
George White	1920–1921	Ohio
Cordell Hull	1921–1924	Tennessee
Clem L. Shaver	1924–1928	West Virginia
John J. Raskob	1928–1932	New York
James A. Farley	1932–1940	New York
Edward J. Flynn	1940–1943	New York
Frank C. Walker	1943–1944	Pennsylvania
Robert E. Hannegan	1944–1947	Missouri
J. Howard McGrath	1947–1949	Rhode Island
William M. Boyle	1949–1951	Missouri
Frank E. McKinney	1951–1952	Indiana
Stephen Mitchell	1952–1955	Illinois
Paul M. Butler	1955–1960	Indiana
Henry M. Jackson	1960–1961	Washington
John Moran Bailey	1961–1968	Connecticut
Lawrence F. O'Brien	1968–1969	Massachusetts
Fred R. Harris	1969–1970	Oklahoma
Lawrence F. O'Brien	1970–1972	Massachusetts
Jean Westwood	1972	Utah
Robert S. Strauss	1972–1977	Texas
Kenneth M. Curtis	1977–1978	Maine
John C. White	1978–1981	Texas
Charles T. Manatt	1981–1985	California
Paul G. Kirk	1985–1989	Massachusetts
Ron Brown	1989–1993	New York
David Wilhelm	1993–1994	Ohio
Debra DeLee	1994–1995	Massachusetts
Christopher J. Dodd	1995–1997	Connecticut
Donald Fowler	1995–1997	South Carolina
Roy Romer	1997–1999	Colorado
Steven Grossman	1997–1999	Massachusetts
Edward G. Rendell	1999–2001	Pennsylvania
Joseph Andrew	1999–2001	Indiana
Terry McAuliffe	2001–2005	Virginia
Howard Dean	2005–2009	Vermont
Tim Kaine	2009–2011	Virginia
Debbie Wasserman Schultz	2011–2016	Florida
Donna Brazile	2016-2017	Washington, D.C.
Tom Perez	2017-present	New York

Candidates

The following table details the major declared candidates in the 2017 race for DNC chair, along with their stated priorities.

Candidates for DNC chair, 2017
Candidate	Position during DNC race	Focus of DNC chair campaign	Candidate statement
Keith Ellison	U.S. Rep. from Minnesota	• Emphasis on working families • State and local candidate development • Prioritization of voter relationships	"We must invest in and empower our state and local parties by creating effective field operations, an enhanced and advanced voter file, and a culture of collaboration between candidates at every level."
Tom Perez*	Outgoing Secretary of Labor	• Emphasis on outreach to state parties • Suggestion of year-round organizing in collaboration with state parties	"And we have to earn the trust of every stakeholder in the party. And I think we can do that because the reality, Audie, is that we are fighting much bigger forces. Donald Trump's vision of America, his nativist vision of America, his fear mongering - that's what we have to fight."
Sally Boynton Brown	Executive director, Democratic Party of Idaho	• Emphasis on grassroots organization • Vision of DNC as "service organization for all 57 state parties"	"Our party can’t afford to spend the next two years having an ideological debate on whether we are liberals or moderates. The Democratic Party has always represented the people and now more than ever we must blow the walls off our tent so everyone feels welcome."
Pete Buttigieg	Mayor of South Bend, Indiana	• Emphasis on small communities affected by DNC policies • Presentation of candidacy as alternative to 2016 election rifts	"I can’t think of something more meaningful than organizing the opposition in the face of what I think will be a pretty monstrous presidency and challenging time out here in the states. ... Sitting back and waiting for the map and demographics to save us — that’s not going to be enough."
Jehmu Greene	Political strategist	•Focus on experience in and out of the party structure •Emphasizes strategy and organization rather than politics	"The DNC needs a Chair who is a SEASONED ORGANIZER and a FIERCE MESSENGER. An exceptional Chair who can share far and wide the transformative vision of our candidates and values, and who can counterpunch disinformation, regardless of where it comes from. ... I am a disrupter and political innovator with the heart of a grassroots organizer. Exactly what the party needs right now."
*Perez won the election on February 25, 2017, on the second round of voting.
Campaigns for DNC chair suspended prior to 2017 meeting
Candidate	Position during DNC race	Focus of DNC chair campaign	Candidate statement
Raymond Buckley**	Chair, Democratic Party of New Hampshire	• Focus on state infrastructure • Clarification of party message	"The party's entirely too Washington-focused, and I want to flip that upside down. I understand that elections are won in the states and in the communities across the country, not within the Beltway. In fact, you know, I think that the Beltway folks actually do more hindrance than help when it comes to electing Democrats to office."
Jaime R. Harrison***	Chair, Democratic Party of South Carolina	• Emphasis on rebuilding local and state parties • Focus on activist outreach and education	"I'm not a Clinton Democrat. I'm not an Obama Democrat. I'm not a Sanders Democrat. I'm just a Democrat, one who is raising his son in ruby-red South Carolina and wants to make sure that the opportunities that I've been able to enjoy and the opportunities that so many working people are able to enjoy are ones that persist. And I know that all of those things are in danger with Donald Trump as president."
**Buckley dropped out of the race on February 18, 2017, and endorsed Ellison for the position. ***Harrison dropped out of the race on February 23, 2017, and endorsed Perez for the chairmanship.

Endorsements

The following are endorsements by notable individuals or organizations for DNC chair candidates during the 2017 chair election. See one we missed? Email us at editor@ballotpedia.org

Ray Buckley

The following individuals endorsed Buckley's run prior to the suspension of his campaign:

• Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.)
• Sen. Maggie Hassan (N.H.)
• Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (N.H.)
• Rep. Annie Kuster (N.H.)

Keith Ellison

In February 2017, the chair campaign page for Keith Ellison listed over 200 endorsements from Democratic politicians, party leaders, and outside organizations. Some of the notable endorsements included:

• Sen. Chuck Schumer (N.Y.)
• Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.)
• Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.)
• Former Sen. Harry Reid (Nev.)
• Mayor Bill de Blasio (New York City)
• AFL-CIO
• Democracy for America
• Our Revolution

Jaime Harrison

The following individuals endorsed Harrison's run:

• Rep. Jim Clyburn (S.C.)
• Rep. Marcia Fudge (Ohio)

Tom Perez

The following individuals endorsed Perez's run:

• Gov. Terry McAuliffe (Va.)
• Gov. John Hickenlooper (Colo.)
• Gov. John Bel Edwards (La.)
• Gov. Gina Raimondo (R.I.)
• Gilberto Hinojosa, Chair of Democratic Party of Texas
• Bruce Poole, Chair of Democratic Party of Maryland
• Thomas McGee, Chair of Democratic Party of Massachusetts
• International Association of Fire Fighters
• United Food and Commercial Workers Union International

Sally Boynton Brown

The following individual endorsed Boynton Brown's run:

• Bert Marley, Chair of Democratic Party of Idaho

Pete Buttigieg

The following individuals endorsed Buttigieg's run:

• Steve Grossman, Former DNC chairman
• Martin O'Malley, Former governor of Maryland
• Howard Dean, Former DNC chairman

Election of Tom Perez

See also: Tom Perez

Former Labor Secretary Tom Perez was elected as DNC chair on February 25, 2017. South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg used his nominating speech to withdraw from the race. On the first ballot, Perez received 213.5 votes, one vote shy of receiving a majority of voting members. Rep. Keith Ellison received 200 votes on the first ballot. After the first round of voting, Sally Boynton Brown withdrew from the race and did not endorse a candidate while Jehmu Greene withdrew and endorsed Ellison. Former DNC Chair Howard Dean, who had previously endorsed Buttigieg, told other voters he would also back Ellison in the second round of voting. In the second round, Perez was elected with 235 votes; Ellison received 200 votes.

Post-election Perez contributions to former candidates

In March 2017, Perez's campaign committee transferred $22,270 to the campaign of former DNC chair candidate Jaime Harrison, who endorsed Perez two days before the first vote in February. Speaking with Politico, Harrison said the donation was not solicited and was not discussed prior to his endorsement of Perez. Harrison said that Perez's staff asked about helping pay the debt weeks after the election. Politico reported that Perez's campaign committee donated to help pay part of the campaign debts for former chair candidates Jehmu Greene and Sally Boynton Brown. According to a Perez aide, the payments went to candidates who asked for help paying off their campaign debts.