Minnesota’s Ken Martin emerges as heavy favorite in race to lead Democratic Party

Ken Martin, one of the front-runners to lead the Democratic National Committee, said Tuesday that he had support from 200 members of the party, a level of backing that is close to what he needs to clinch victory.

If that support holds for Martin, chairman of the Minnesota Democrats, he would be just 25 votes short of the number necessary to win the party elections on Feb. 1.

“I’m honored to have gained the support of leaders from across the country,” Martin said. “Our campaign is gaining momentum, and we’re going to continue to work hard for people’s votes.”

None of the other candidates in the race to lead the DNC has claimed anywhere near the level of support Martin has. His campaign did not release a list of his backers, although more than 100 national committee members have made their support for him public.

The other top contenders have announced far fewer public endorsements. One of them, Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland, has “just over 100″ private commitments, according to his spokesperson, Chris Taylor.

Ben Wikler, the Wisconsin Democratic chair seen as Martin’s main rival, had said that he would not release internal whip counts. But in response to Martin’s tally, Wikler’s spokesperson, Brianna Johnson, said Wikler’s count was “within 30 votes of Ken.”

Johnson said Martin was “seeking to create a false sense of momentum.”

Martin and Wikler share broadly similar mainstream politics, and the race has not been marked by major proposals to remake the party after President Donald Trump’s victory in November.

Last week, Faiz Shakir, who served as the campaign manager for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential bid, joined the race pledging to redefine the party as defenders of the working class.

Martin, who founded and led an organization of Democratic state party leaders that morphed into a power center within the national committee and grew into an annoyance for its leaders, has demonstrated support among fellow state party chairs and vice chairs.

Many institutional Democratic officials have privately complained about Martin’s attempt to lead the party, but they have made little public effort to block him from winning.

Other candidates include Nate Snyder, a former homeland security official in the Obama and Biden administrations; Marianne Williamson, the former presidential candidate; and Jason Paul, a Massachusetts lawyer who said during a forum last week that his party lost the presidential election because “the political media has insisted on manufacturing Democratic controversies.”

National committee members are set to gather on Feb. 1 at a hotel in Washington’s suburbs to elect their next chair. Jaime Harrison, the current chair, is not seeking reelection.