Members of the Democratic National Committee elected Ken Martin as the central party body’s new chair on Saturday, picking a seasoned party operative to help lead the party back to power in Washington.
Martin, chair of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, defeated two other major contenders – Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley — and a host of more marginal candidates.
He received 246 votes to Wikler’s 144 and O’Malley’s 44.
The outcome was not a surprise: Martin was the frontrunner from the moment he jumped into the race.
In a press conference after the vote was certified, Martin said his message to President Donald Trump was: “We’re coming.”