Malcolm Kenyatta could lose his role as vice chair of the DNC because of a ‘procedural error’

What is being called a “procedural error” in a vote taken within the Democratic National Committee could endanger the position of committee vice chairman held by State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D., Philadelphia).

Kenyatta, who was elected to the post in February, expressed his disappointment Monday on X, saying, “I worked my a— off to get this role and have done the job every day since I’ve held it … I’m frustrated.”

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. He has increasingly taken on larger roles in national Democratic politics.

On Monday evening, a subcommittee of the Democratic National Committee recommended that the organization invalidate one of its February vice chair votes over claims that it unfairly disadvantaged female candidates, according to NBC News.

The entire DNC needs to vote on the matter, which is not official. The timeline for that vote was not clear Tuesday.

An invalidation could mean that Kenyatta has to run for vice chair again and face a possible loss. On X, Kenyatta called the subcommittee’s decision a “slap in the face," adding, “but I’ll be ok.”

In an interview Tuesday, 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 fellow vice chair David Hogg, a Florida activist, challenged the vote.

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. Lately, he has been 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 is related to his disagreements with the party, Hogg has said.

In Free’s view, it was impossible for a woman to have won a vice chair seat, given the way the February vote was held.

According to DNC rules, the party’s executive committee of vice chairs has to be equally divided along gender lines, or as close to equal as possible.

As NBC reported, the party needed to elect at least one man to the final two vice chair spots to make sure that the male-female ratio on the seven-person executive committee was equitable.

In a move that is now disputed, the party held a single vote to decide the final two slots, instead of holding separate votes for each position.

That was unfair, according to Free.

She claimed that the combined ballot of two men — Hogg and Kenyatta — made it impossible to vote for a woman, because members had to vote for at least one man on the combined ballot.

If the ballots had been separated, Free maintained, it is possible members could have voted differently.

Representatives for Hogg and Kenyatta disagreed with the challenge, saying the party had the right to conduct the vote as it did.

On Tuesday, Kenyatta criticized Hogg, saying: “David Hogg has intentionally misrepresented what this is about. He’s tried to take this process and set it in the narrative of the party out to get David. That is not only wrong but deeply inappropriate in a moment when American people are enduring challenges to their lives.”

Hogg could not be reached for comment.