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Is This Guy the Worst Party Chair in the History of the United States?

Ken Martin once seemed like a promising leader of the DNC. But his reign has been disastrous—and the time has come to turn to the man he defeated.

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Michael Tomasky's avatar
The New Republic and Michael Tomasky
Jul 28, 2026
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Ken Martin, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, speaks during Day 1 of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party Convention in the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, Minn. on Friday, May 29, 2026.
Alex Kormann/Getty Images

Self-help author Marianne Williamson didn’t exactly impress a lot of people as having the sharpest political mind during her brief foray into electoral politics. But here’s one thing she got a thousand percent right—though maybe not the way she intended.

In early 2025—and yes, you may be forgiven for having forgotten this—she ran…

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