Detroit hosted candidates running for Democratic National Committee leadership positions this week.
The candidates were in Detroit for a forum taking place in a downtown luxury hotel. The audience was largely made up of party insiders, with many of the voters in the party elections likely watching online
It followed a disappointing election for Michigan Democrats, who lost ground to Republicans in the presidential, congressional, and state legislative races.
Two-time presidential candidate Marianne Williamson is among those running to be the next Democratic Party chair.
She said Democrats can win back the state by doing what she describes as “the right thing.”
“Stand for something. Stand for universal health care. Stand for higher wages. Make sure that you will not rest until that minimum wage is lifted. You make sure that every state becomes a fair wage state. You actually spend political capital on the things that you say you believe in,” Williamson told reporters ahead of a panel in the chair race.
Williamson faces a challenge from a pool of highly endorsed contenders. That includes Minnesota Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler and Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chair Ken Martin.
Further down ballot, candidates also used the forum to discuss their own visions for how to correct what went wrong for Democrats in 2024.
Anti-gun violence activist David Hogg is running for a DNC vice chair spot. He said the party had a problem with listening.
“I think what the Democratic Party needs to get back to is talking to people on a day to day basis and not flying in people from, you know, blue states into states like Michigan and living here for two months before the election in a community that they don't know anything about outside of a Wikipedia page, when we could be organizing people on the ground in this state,” Hogg said Thursday.
Whoever wins the races will have to rebuild relations with various groups that have typically made up parts of the “big tent” that Democrats often refer to.
This past race, Republicans in Michigan made gains among groups like Arab American voters in Dearborn and Hamtramck, as well as Black voters in Detroit.
Southern Poverty Law Center state director Waikinya Clanton is also running for one of the vice chair positions. She said party messaging hasn’t been reaching intended audiences.
“They are disillusioned. Right? They don't feel like the issues that they care about are being translated or talked about in a way that is accessible to them. And so we have a job to do on that, not only, like, pushing for policy, but making sure that policy connects. We've missed the connection point,” Clanton said.
In all, there are four vice chair positions up for grabs this cycle. The election is being held on February 1.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a current vice chair with the DNC, is not running again for the position.
