Malcolm Kenyatta retains his vice chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee
Before this resolution, fighting among Democrats, including with activist David Hogg, had roiled the party for a month and had threatened Kenyatta's position.
State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D., Philadelphia) will retain his vice chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee, a DNC official said Thursday.
An internal party quarrel that involved the other vice chair, activist David Hogg, had threatened Kenyatta’s position. But the matter was resolved after Hogg said Wednesday that he would not continue in the role, the official said.
As a result, in a vote to reelect vice chairmen that began Thursday, Kenyatta’s name was the only one on the ballot. That means he will win, although the result will not be official until nationwide electronic voting by Democratic officeholders, officials, and others connected to the party ends Saturday, the official said.
“I’m grateful to the overwhelming support I’ve received in this reelection from DNC members,” Kenyatta said Wednesday in a post on X, “and I look forward to getting back to work electing Democrats up and down the ballot.”
Kenyatta has represented North Philadelphia since 2019. He has been an anti-gun activist and is the first openly LGBTQ person of color elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Kenyatta has increasingly taken on larger roles in national Democratic politics.
Before this resolution of the vice chairmanship was achieved, fighting among the Democrats had roiled the party for a month.
In May, a DNC subcommittee recommended that the organization invalidate one of its February vice chair votes over claims that it unfairly disadvantaged female candidates.
An invalidation meant that Kenyatta had to run for vice chair again and face a possible loss. On X, Kenyatta had called the subcommittee’s decision a “slap in the face."
In an interview with The Inquirer last month, Kenyatta said: “The most unfortunate aspect of this is that we are now talking about internal party procedures, when as we speak, Republicans are gutting Medicaid, Medicare, trying to overturn Obamacare, and getting rid of food stamps.”
Oklahoma Democratic committeewoman Kalyn Free, who unsuccessfully ran against Kenyatta and Hogg, had challenged the vote, claiming it violated DNC rules.
Hogg became nationally known as a gun-control advocate after he survived the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 14, 2018. Named to the Time 100 list that same year, Hogg has gone on to support liberal causes through protests and marches.
He became the subject of ire from others in the DNC for his belief that incumbent Democrats should face primary challenges that he said he would finance to recharge the Democratic Party, which he has said is “asleep at the wheel.”
The DNC call for another vote was related to his disagreements with the party, Hogg has said.
The party will begin another vote for the second vice chair that will run Sunday through Tuesday, putting an end to the Democrats’ infighting, the DNC official said.
Harmony comes at a critical moment, according to Kenyatta in his X post:
“As Donald Trump sends troops into American cities … [and] threatens peaceful protest … Democrats must be bold and meet this moment.”