March for Our Lives co-founder David Hogg announced his candidacy for vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee on Monday, aiming to change the status quo within the party following last month's general election loss. Then he announced.
In an interview with The Hill, Mr. Hogg, 24, cited the Democratic Party's loss among young voters in November as his motivation to run for internal leadership.
“Frankly, we need to focus on developing the youth within the party, not in a way that pats us on the head and takes our votes for granted. Not in a really empowering way,” Hogg said.
Hogg noted that he believes the losses the party experienced last month were partly due to the party's message to younger voters.
“I think this is a party that needs to communicate more directly to voters,” he said. “We need to tell them what Democrats are doing and pass that on to whoever the next speaker is,” he continued. “I will try to speak directly to people and the vice chair and be aggressive about the messaging around what we are doing.”
Vice President Kamala Harris won a majority of young voters last month, but President-elect Trump has made significant inroads with this group. Harris won the group by just 6 points, a quarter of the total support that Biden received four years ago.
Hogg said he saw warning signs before the election, but his concerns were ignored by other Democrats.
“About 15 months ago, when I raised the flag about concerns about young voters, I received an email from a consultant within the party telling me I didn't know what I was talking about and that I should make another stupid statement. ” he said.
Mr Hogg went on to criticize the party's previous message on other issues such as the economy and crime.
“When people come to us with serious problems they're facing, serious challenges like rising rents, our approach is to say, 'Here's a graph,' rather than addressing them directly. It tells you why you should feel that way and why you shouldn't feel that way. ”
Hogg is a survivor of the Parkland school shooting and became a prominent gun control activist after the shooting. In 2023, he founded Leaders We Deserve PAC, which aims to elect young, progressive state House candidates.
His announcement comes as Democrats look to new leadership and push back against the incoming Trump administration and Republican majorities in the House and Senate. The DNC is led by a chairman, five vice-chairmen, a treasurer, a secretary, and a national finance chairman.
Five candidates have begun running for the chair position to replace outgoing chair Jamie Harrison. Hogg praised the candidates running for chair, but said he is not endorsing any candidates at this time.
