DNC Chairman Ken Martin on why Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ is a ‘gift’ to Democrats, Shapiro’s popularity and Fetterman’s criticisms

Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin has had a rough start to his tenure.

Since he won the election in February, there’s been infighting within the party and within the DNC leadership fueled by varying opinions on how Democrats should move forward after last year’s election losses. He’s also faced some criticism that he hasn’t been treating the moment as urgently as many Democrats think is required to push back on President Donald Trump. But Martin also points to the streak of elections Democrats have won in the past eight months. The former head of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, who was previously largely unknown on the national stage, laid out his strategy for the party’s future.

We sat down with him for coffee — a Celsius energy drink for him — during a stop in Philadelphia this week to talk about what he thinks Democrats need to do in Pennsylvania, the helpful boost he thinks popular Gov. Josh Shapiro will bring other Pennsylvania Democrats in 2026 as he runs for reelection, and whether the Republican praise for Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.) makes him nervous. Martin was in town for the the National Association of Counties and then the national Young Democrats of America gathering, both held in Philadelphia.

This conversation has been edited lightly for clarity and length.

What’s the pitch to voters in Pennsylvania ahead of the judicial races in November and the 2026 midterms? I’ve seen a lot of focus on the ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’

I was just visiting with the county officials, who are on the front lines of this nexus of state and federal dollars, and unfortunately, with all the cuts earlier in the year, the initial cuts from the Trump administration, coupled with the tariffs, and meanwhile, this bill, it’s just devastated local communities. As a result, these county commissioners are just dumbfounded on how to actually provide services. I say that because there’s no doubt, right, that this bill is not a gift to the American people, but it was a gift to the Democratic Party.

It allows us the opportunity to actually have conversations with many voters, frankly, a lot of them who voted for Donald Trump because they believed that he was going to help their lives ... we’re six months into his administration, and most, if not all, of the stuff that he has done has actually hurt the very people that he said he was going to help.

What’s the strategy for delivering that message in Pennsylvania?

We made the most historic investments ever by the DNC in the grassroots of our party. We just launched our organizing summer campaign where we’re going to be campaigning throughout Pennsylvania this summer and not in the traditional way of knocking on doors. We’re going out to festivals, to picnics, to concerts, to sporting events, to bars. And then in those digital spaces, we’re really not just going to news and political sites but going into culture and sports and entertainment. Most people, they go into these sites like weightlifting sites or knitting sites, thinking they’re escaping politics. But what the Trump campaign did so well is they have people in there talking about Trump or beating the hell out of ... the Democratic Party.

Year after year, Republicans have gained on Democrats in voter registration in Pennsylvania. What, if anything, are you doing to try and reverse that trend?

I don’t agree with anything that the conservative movement has done in this country, but I marvel at the machine that they built. It’s all actually connected to a philosophy the conservative movement has here, which is to campaign all the time ... and to do it in a very granular way, precinct by precinct. They never stop. So Democrats are a lot different. When the campaign’s over, we put the campaign swords down, and we go to govern ... we have to be engaged in a permanent campaign and a big part of that is registering voters.

Latino voters shifted heavily rightward for Trump nationally and in Pennsylvania. Are Democrats here doing anything to try and win them back?

Of all the groups that have the biggest buyer’s remorse about Donald Trump, it’s been the Latino community, and it’s driven by a couple of things. Of course, the very ham-handed, destructive, and I would argue, unconstitutional manner in which Donald Trump has gone about his immigration policies are not supported by the majority of Americans. I think Americans are starting to see we need a more civilized approach.

But the mistake we make with the Latino community is believing that the No. 1 issue is immigration. The No. 1 issue is, much like the rest of us, they want safe and secure communities. They want good, living-wage jobs. We make the mistake of always leading with immigration as their No. 1 issue.

You’ve laid out a lot of initiatives for the state Democratic Party. The state party chairman, State Sen. Sharif Street, is running for Congress. Are you confident that he can do both of those things? Have you talked to him about that?

I prefer, to be honest with you, that Chairman Street, you know, pick one or another of those, right? I think it’s hard to do both. If I’m being really honest, I think Sharif has done a good job at the state party. I’m a huge supporter of his, for sure, as chair, but I want to make sure that the party is as strong as possible going into next year. He’ll have to make a decision about what he thinks is best. That’s not my decision to make, but I want to make sure that the party makes sure they have all the attention it deserves.

There’s been criticism from within your own party about an overrepresentation of older politicians at the same time younger voters have drifted away from the party. What’s your response to that?

There’s a generational shift going on in our party, and our party has to be do a better job of creating pathways to leadership for younger voices and newer voices.

Young voters are the largest voting bloc in the country, and they can be the kings and queen-makers of any election if they turn out and vote. But one of the reasons they don’t vote is because they don’t feel like whether it’s their party or their government or this country listens to them or reflects their values or is a space for them.

Democrats seem to be hoping that Gov. Josh Shapiro, who has polled extremely well in the state lately, helps them in congressional races when he’s up for reelection in 2026. How do you see his role in the wider playing field?

The reason that Josh is so popular, as he says, it’s about getting s— done, and that’s what he’s done for Pennsylvanians. People, at the end of the day, some people pick parties. A lot of folks don’t. They vote for the candidate. A lot of people in this country have a low trust for institutions right now, whether it’s parties or, frankly, government institutions. But they’re looking for people who actually say what they’re going to do and then end up doing it. One of the reasons that people love Josh Shapiro so much is because he tells them what he’s going to do, and he goes out and he fights for folks in this state.

Sen. Fetterman is someone who is not afraid to criticize his own party sometimes to the frustration of his fellow members. Republicans have at the same time embraced him. Do either of those things — his criticisms, or the Republican embrace, concern you?

It doesn’t. We’re a big tent party. We got conservative Democrats, we’ve got centrist Democrats, we’ve got progressives, we’ve got this new emerging left. And, you know, sometimes it makes for messy debate and dissent. But, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I mean, I think that’s the beauty of our Democratic Party, is that we have many different voices.

Sen. Fetterman, if he chooses to run again, and primary voters put him as our nominee, of course, our party is going to be behind him. It’s a critical Senate seat to hold. We’ve got a few years yet to go. He has to make that decision.