The race to replace South Carolina native Jaime Harrison as chair of the Democratic National Committee will run through Charleston today with a 6 p.m. candidate forum at the American Theater on King Street.
Members of the public are invited to watch the forum on the S.C. Democratic Party’s YouTube channel.
Candidates expected to attend include former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party State Chair Ken Martin, Wisconsin Democratic Party State Chair Ben Wikler, political strategist Jason Paul, former Arkansas congressional candidate Quintessa Hathaway and homeland security professional Nate Snyder.
The new chair will serve as chief fundraiser and head cheerleader for the party as it navigates the next four years under new President Donald Trump.
Harrison, a native of Orangeburg, led the party through the successful midterms of 2022, the last-minute Biden-to-Harris nominee switch of 2024 and, ultimately, the loss to Trump last fall.
But despite that loss, Harrison says he’s proud of the work he helped make possible under President Joe Biden.
“Over the last four years, I have had the honor of serving as the Chair of the Democratic National Committee under the most effective President in my lifetime,” Harrison said in a Jan. 15 statement. “From his historic and record breaking appointments of people of color and women to the judiciary to his changes to the Democratic presidential primary calendar elevating communities that have been historically relegated to the sidelines, Joe Biden has seen us, heard us, and most importantly fought for us – all of us.”
The vote for party chair will take place Feb. 1 at the DNC winter meeting in National Harbor, Maryland.
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