DNC votes to redo vice chair elections of Hogg, Kenyatta

Members of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) have voted to redo its vice chair election, teeing up two separate votes for the positions held by David Hogg and Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta.

The vote to redo the elections was 294-99.

Oklahoma DNC member Kalyn Free, who ran for a vice chair position and lost, filed a challenge in late February over the way the vice chair election was conducted, alleging in her letter that it unfairly gave the male candidates an advantage over the female vice chair candidates.

The DNC Credentials Committee determined last month it would move forward with the challenge and put the matter to a vote for the entire committee to see whether a majority of members believed the vice chair election should be conducted again.

Now, the DNC will hold two separate virtual votes, one running between June 12 and June 14 for a male vice chair ballot and another running June 15 to June 17 for a vice chair ballot in which any gender candidate can run.

Free’s complaint over the February vice chair election is separate from a firestorm Hogg has ignited within the party over whether he should be involved in primarying members of the party while serving as a DNC officer.

Those tensions came to a head earlier this week when leaked audio of a Zoom call with DNC officers showed Chair Ken Martin expressing frustration with Hogg, telling the gun control activist in part: “I don’t think you intended this, but you essentially destroyed any chance I have to show the leadership that I need to, so it’s really frustrating.” 

While Hogg has sought to distance himself from the leaked audio, the ordeal has contributed to bubbling tensions between Hogg and DNC leadership. The controversy also prompted some members to rethink the way they were going to vote over the DNC vice chair election redo.

Even if Hogg survives the challenge and is reelected as vice chair, his position within the DNC is far from certain if he continues to stay involved in primaries against incumbents as an DNC officer.

Kenyatta quickly offered a statement saying he looked forward to making his case.

“I respect the vote of the DNC, and now we can almost bring this chapter to a close," he said in a statement. "I look forward to making my case to DNC members and our party as a whole on how we make life better and refocusing on Trump’s attacks on our Constitution and working families.“