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List of U.S. political party chairs

Chair of the Democratic National Committee
Incumbent
Ken Martin
since February 1, 2025
AppointerDemocratic National Committee
Term length4 years; renewable
Inaugural holderBenjamin F. Hallett
Formation1848 (177 years ago)
WebsiteOfficial website

The chair of the Democratic National Committee is the party chair of the Democratic Party.[1]

The chair manages the day-to-day affairs and operations of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), prepares and conducts the quadrennial Democratic National Convention, and promotes the Democratic "party brand" and political platform, as well as assists in party fundraising and election strategy.[2] The DNC chair also serves as a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention and can affect the outcome over a close primary race only if no candidate receives a majority of pledged delegates.[3]

The current officeholder is Ken Martin of Minnesota, who took office on February 1, 2025.[4][5]

Chairs of the Democratic National Committee

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  Denotes acting capacity.
List of Democratic National Committee chairs[6]
Name Start End State[7]
Benjamin Hallett 1848 1852 Massachusetts
Robert McLane 1852 1856 Maryland
David Smalley 1856 June 23, 1860 Vermont
August Belmont June 23, 1860 1872 New York
Augustus Schell 1872 1876 New York
Abram Hewitt 1876 March 4, 1877 New York
William Barnum March 4, 1877 April 30, 1889 Connecticut
Calvin Brice April 30, 1889 1892 Ohio
William Harrity 1892 1896 Pennsylvania
James Jones 1896 1904 Arkansas
Thomas Taggart 1904 1908 Indiana
Norman Mack 1908 July 15, 1912 New York
William McCombs July 15, 1912 June 15, 1916 New York
Vance McCormick June 15, 1916 January 15, 1919 Pennsylvania
Homer Cummings February 27, 1919 July 28, 1920 Connecticut
George White July 28, 1920 November 2, 1921 Ohio
Cordell Hull November 2, 1921 July 22, 1924 Tennessee
Clem Shaver July 22, 1924 July 11, 1928 West Virginia
John Raskob July 11, 1928 July 2, 1932 New York
James Farley July 2, 1932 August 17, 1940 New York
Edward Flynn August 17, 1940 January 18, 1943 New York
Frank Walker January 18, 1943 January 23, 1944 Pennsylvania
Robert Hannegan January 23, 1944 October 29, 1947 Missouri
Howard McGrath October 29, 1947 August 24, 1949 Rhode Island
William Boyle August 24, 1949 October 31, 1951 Missouri
Frank McKinney October 31, 1951 August 9, 1952 Indiana
Stephen Mitchell August 9, 1952 January 1, 1955 Illinois
Paul Butler January 1, 1955 July 17, 1960 Indiana
Larry O'Brien August 30, 1968 January 14, 1969 Massachusetts
Fred Harris January 14, 1969 March 5, 1970 Oklahoma
Larry O'Brien March 5, 1970 July 14, 1972 Massachusetts
Jean Westwood July 14, 1972 December 9, 1972 Utah
Bob Strauss December 9, 1972 January 21, 1977 Texas
Kenneth Curtis January 21, 1977 January 27, 1978 Maine
John White January 27, 1978 February 27, 1981 Texas
Charles Manatt February 27, 1981 February 1, 1985 California
Paul Kirk February 1, 1985 February 10, 1989 Massachusetts
Ron Brown February 10, 1989 January 21, 1993 New York
David Wilhelm January 21, 1993 November 11, 1994 Ohio
Debra DeLee November 11, 1994 January 21, 1995 Massachusetts
Chris Dodd
General Chair		 January 21, 1995 January 21, 1997 Connecticut
Don Fowler
National Chair		 South Carolina
Roy Romer
General Chair		 January 21, 1997 September 25, 1999 Colorado
Steve Grossman
National Chair		 January 22, 1999 Massachusetts
Ed Rendell
General Chair		 September 25, 1999 February 3, 2001 Pennsylvania
Joe Andrew
National Chair		 January 22, 1999 January 21, 2001 Indiana
Terry McAuliffe February 3, 2001 February 12, 2005 Virginia
Howard Dean February 12, 2005 January 21, 2009 Vermont
Tim Kaine January 21, 2009 April 5, 2011 Virginia
Donna Brazile
Acting		 April 5, 2011 May 4, 2011 Louisiana
Debbie Wasserman Schultz May 4, 2011 July 28, 2016 Florida
Donna Brazile
Acting		 July 28, 2016 February 25, 2017 Louisiana
Tom Perez February 25, 2017 January 21, 2021 Maryland
Jaime Harrison January 21, 2021 February 1, 2025 South Carolina
Ken Martin February 1, 2025 present Minnesota

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Cornelius P. Cotter, and Bernard C. Hennessy, eds. Politics without Power: The National Party Committees (1964) excerpt Archived 2021-10-14 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ Heersink, Boris (2021). "Examining Democratic and Republican National Committee Party Branding Activity, 1953–2012". Perspectives on Politics. 21: 142–159. doi:10.1017/S1537592721000025. ISSN 1537-5927. S2CID 233646493. Archived from the original on March 24, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Democrats strip superdelegates of power and reform caucuses in 'historic' move". NBC News. August 25, 2018. Archived from the original on August 25, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  4. ↑ Kamisar, Ben (February 1, 2025). "Ken Martin wins election as the next chair of the Democratic National Committee". NBC News. Archived from the original on February 21, 2025. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Democratic National Committee". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  6. ↑ Schemmel, B. "Political parties". United States Government departments and offices, etc. Rulers. Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  7. ↑ Lawrence Kestenbaum. "A Database of Historic Cemeteries". The Political Graveyard web site. Archived from the original on December 6, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2010.
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