In the first candidate forum in the Democratic National Committee chair race, all four publicly declared candidates will interact with the Young Democrats of America (YDA) at its annual winter meetings, with each candidate seeking to contribute to the party's youth wing. He vowed to institutionalize financial support.
“Each of the four people here has shown that they are serious about reaching young voters,” Quentin Wasam Okama, president of Young Democrats of America, told The Hill. “Regardless of what you think about any of the candidates, they are all committed to building a multi-generational, working-class party, and for me that's why it's so important that they hear from us. I think it was important.
The candidates running are Minnesota Democratic Party Chairman Ken Martin, Wisconsin Party Chairman Ben Wikler, former Maryland Governor and Social Security Secretary Martin O'Malley (Democratic), and New York State Senator James Skoufis. (Democratic Party).
This is the first time Young Democrats of America has hosted a candidate forum with DNC candidates. Wasamu Okama added: “I am happy that none of the candidates are interested in doing what we have done in the past.”
During the forum, the four candidates agreed to make the Young Democratic Party a “fundraising item” for the National Party. Young Democrats of America operates as an independent 527 political organization and must raise funds independently of the party.
“We gave millions of dollars to consultants, and we were basically throwing that money down the drain when we could have given it to organizations like this,” Skoflis said. Ta. “It is shameful that the Democratic National Committee has taken young, college and high school Democrats for granted and completely ignored your contributions to the party.”
In this presidential election, far fewer young Americans supported the Democratic Party than in previous elections. President-elect Trump won among young men, narrowing Democrats' traditional double-digit advantage among young voters to just a few points.
Young Democratic lawmakers who attended the meeting said such an investment would be “life-changing” for the organization.
“Funding commitments could fundamentally change the way we operate,” said Katherine Jeans, an incoming voting delegate for Young Democrats at the Democratic National Committee. “A lot of promises have been made. I'm interested to see what the commitment and follow-through is.”
“Paying us 5,000 or 1,000 is actually going to go much farther than going to a PAC or political consulting, because my members are making the most of that money, and they're young They know how to make connections, they know how to be frugal, they know how to survive.'' So we can consistently support our chapters and ask them to do their best,'' Wassam-Okama said. spoke.
Jeans has not yet decided which of the four candidates she will vote for in February, but she is excited about the work the candidates have done to work with young Democrats in the state. He also said he would like to learn more from them.
“I think the most impactful thing you can do for me is to meaningfully invest in young Democrats in their states right now,” Jeans said. “They're coming to me because I have the DNC vote. They're coming here because there are people who have the DNC vote, but the Young Democrats branch The people running it don't have the votes of the DNC.”
The candidates also pledged to make it easier for young Democrats to travel to the national convention and increase funding for state and local parties, with the candidates also pledging to make it easier for young Democrats to travel to the national convention and increase funding for state and local parties. He named Democratic Party Chairman Anderson Clayton. He attended the forum as an example of why the National Party needs to better support state and local party leaders.
“No state party chair should have to choose between paying a living wage and working for the party they love. So, especially for younger Democrats, if they have a full-time job We're going to set up a fund for guest travel to bring awareness to…For example, we have a 26-year-old chair in North Carolina who has dedicated her life to the party. I've been there and I'm not getting paid,” Martin said.
Mr Clayton echoed Mr Martin's comments after the forum, adding that it was important to increase funding to get young people into the party.
“Of the 57 state party chairs and territory chairs in the country, we only pay 10. And this is a huge problem, and from a working class and young people perspective I think it's a big divestment that the company has made,” Clayton told The Hill. Clayton, who was a voting member in the DNC election, said he was most drawn to Martin and Wikler because of their experience organizing state parties.
