President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Thursday named Jaime Harrison as his choice to lead the Democratic National Committee, part of an effort to strengthen the committee ahead of what is already expected to be the midterm elections for the broken.
Former President of the Democratic Party of South Carolina, Harrison became a national politics star last year by breaking fundraising records in his run against Sen. Lindsey Graham, who was running for re-election. Although Harrison lost in November, attracting 44% of the votes against Graham’s 55%, he developed a broad support party across the party.
Harrison’s choice, after Biden’s victories in Arizona and Georgia in November, reflects the president-elect’s long-standing determination that Democrats will run in once red states, a recognition that the party will never hold a lasting majority congress without make inroads through the Sun Belt.
Biden’s top advisers also plan to appoint a small group of Democrats elected as vice presidents to reward their support for the campaign and offer them the opportunity to be high-profile substitutes. Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Representative Filemon Vela of Texas and Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms of Atlanta will serve in the roles.
Following the tradition of committee members accepting the choice of president, Mr. Harrison is not expected to face an opponent for the job.
It wrote on Twitter on Thursday that he was “humble and excited” to be chosen, and that “together, we will organize everywhere, invest in state parties, expand the map and elect the Democrats who will be the champions of this country’s working class “.
Mr. Harrison is well known to the DNC team and members, a result of his work at the head of the South Carolina state party and a failed attempt to become chairman of the committee in 2017. (Tom Perez, the chairman of the DNC of left, won a race.) Harrison was defended by Representative James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, an influential ally of Biden who helped the elected president win the primary election in Clyburn’s home state. Mr. Perez chose not to run for a second term.
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Incoming presidents traditionally take control of party committees, installing their own president and team members. Former President Barack Obama chose to try to establish his own political operation outside the committee, a decision that many DNC members say has hurt state parties and led to years of dysfunction at the national level.
Much more institutionalized by the party, Biden promised to rebuild state parties and deepen investments in the committee.
Harrison was favored by the party’s state leaders, who saw him as an ally in their efforts to keep the committee focused on rebuilding the party’s local infrastructure. After Biden’s election, dozens of state party presidents and vice presidents sent a letter to his transition team that did not mention Harrison, but listed a number of qualities that matched his experience and skills.
“We are convinced that he not only believes in the principle of organization of state parties, but also that he will be a very strong voice in the Biden government,” said Jane Kleeb, president of the Democratic Party of Nebraska.
The focus on the party’s national committee comes as Democrats try to navigate a deeply uncertain electoral landscape. Even before the attack on the US Capitol shuffled American policy, Democrats anticipated difficult midterm disputes in the House and Senate in 2022 and the persistent possibility that Biden – who will become the oldest president in the country’s history on Wednesday – may decide not to run for a second term.
But even before the evidence, the party committee will have to overcome the divisions between Democrats who want Biden and his message to focus on the unification of the country and a liberal wing eager to pursue lawsuits and other measures to hold President Trump and his officials accountable. allies.
The role of Mr. Harrison’s home state in the initial primary process can complicate discussions about changing the nomination process. South Carolina is the fourth state to hold a contest in the primaries, a function that brings an influx of candidates, spending, news coverage – and an outspoken voice in the fight for nomination.
The party faces major concerns over the fairness of complicated caucus suits, as used in Iowa and Nevada, along with questions about how two relatively older, white states – Iowa and New Hampshire – gave the first two votes. Some Nevada party leaders are already pushing to end all conventions and dethrone Iowa for the first round of voting.