Source: Politics
Faiz Shakir, who led Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign, is jumping into the race for chair of the Democratic National Committee — injecting a new candidate into the low-key contest.
Shakir confirmed his candidacy in a text message to POLITICO. The New York Times first reported Shakir’s decision.
Shakir’s late entrance into the race could shake up a contest that has largely focused on party mechanics rather than its ideology. In a letter to DNC members, Shakir said he’s become “frustrated” by the “lack of vision and conviction for what to do to restore a deeply damaged Democratic brand,” prompting his decision to join the race.
“We all seemingly agree — rhetorically at least — that focusing on winning back America’s diverse working class is of utmost priority,” Shakir wrote in his letter to DNC members. “But as I have listened to our candidates, I sense a constrained, status-quo style of thinking. We cannot expect working class audiences to see us any differently if we are not offering anything new or substantive to attract their support.”
But Shakir starts his bid far behind Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler and Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chair Ken Martin, both of whom have rolled out high-profile endorsements and locked down some of the DNC’s 448 members, who will vote for their party’s chair on Feb. 1. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley has also carved out a bloc of support among DNC members.
The DNC chair candidates will participate in their second forum on Thursday in Michigan, but Shakir, who entered the race on Wednesday, will not be on the stage. There are two more forums scheduled in January.
In his letter to members, Shakir laid out some of his platform for his bid, including a pledge to turn the DNC into “an organizing army” with its own “powerful media outlet” that will release its own “compelling original content.”