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The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is looking to move past David Hogg’s controversy, as the 25-year-old progressive firebrand announced he won’t seek re-election as vice chair after sparking internal rifts with his push to primary older incumbent Democrats.
Members voted Wednesday to uphold the Credentials Committee’s resolution proposed by longtime Democratic Party activist, Kalyn Free, to host a re-election for two vice-chair positions, which were held by Hogg and DNC vice chair Malcolm Kenyatta.
Kenyatta told Fox News Digital the process was “frustrating” and felt like a “slap in the face.”
“We haven’t been able to be singularly focused,” Kenyatta said. “We’ve spent a lot of time talking about procedural nonsense within the DNC. I promise you nobody cares about that, and nobody wants to talk about it as little as I do. I want us to get refocused.”
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DNC vice chair Malcolm Kenyatta, left, spoke with Fox News Digital about David Hogg’s decision not to seek reelection amid ongoing party conflict. (Getty Images)
Soon after the DNC voted to redo the Feb. 1 vice-chair election, Hogg announced, in a lengthy X thread — that has since been deleted — that he would not seek re-election “so the party can focus on what really matters.”
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“Only David can speak to his motivations, but I absolutely wish him the best,” Kenyatta told Fox News Digital. “And I’m excited to get back to the real work that’s at hand, because one of the things he said in his statement, and he was absolutely right, is that this can’t continue to be a distraction, because at the end of the day, the American people care about what we’re doing to make their life better.”
DNC Chair Ken Martin also commended Hogg’s decision Wednesday, thanking him for “his years of activism, organizing, and fighting for his generation.”
“While I continue to believe he is a powerful voice for this party, I respect his decision to step back from his post as vice chair,” Martin said.
David Hogg speaks onstage during the Fast Company Innovation Festival 2024 at BMCC Tribeca PAC in New York City on Sept. 17, 2024. (Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Fast Company)
Hogg’s decision to leave the DNC follows a damning Politico report, which included leaked audio from a Zoom meeting of Martin lamenting over Hogg’s fallout at the DNC, claiming it has made it harder for Democrats to do their jobs and for Martin to demonstrate his ability to lead.
“I don’t think you intended this, but you essentially destroyed any chance I have to show the leadership that I need to. So, it’s really frustrating,” Martin said.
Martin affirmed the DNC would stay neutral in Democratic primaries after Hogg pledged $20 million through his outside political action group, Leaders We Deserve, to support primary challenges against older House Democrats in safe blue districts he said are “asleep at the wheel.”
The DNC chair gave Hogg the ultimatum to either rescind his vice-chair position or forego his political influence through his PAC.
But that didn’t stop Hogg from defying advice and wading into additional Democratic primaries by endorsing Virginia state Del. Irene Shin in the special election to replace the late Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va.
DNC Chairman Ken Martin speaks after winning the vote at the DNC Winter Meeting at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, on Feb. 1. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
A DNC committee member, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, told Fox News Digital: “It’s the smart thing for David Hogg to resign. He knows he has caused way too much drama.”
The committee member said the controversy surrounding Hogg was a distraction that forced “Democrats to be focused on internal bulls— rather than focusing on fighting with every ounce of energy we have the existential threat to our lives livelihoods and our democracy that is the autocratic cruelty and corruption coming from the Trump administration.”
The member said the DNC can now “carry out its internal elections drama-free” and move on ahead of the 2025 races and upcoming midterm elections in 2026.
And a former DNC official, who also asked for anonymity to speak more freely, said Hogg’s departure “means the party may have eased internal process issues but will continue to face the broader question of how and when a new generation of leaders steps into the arena.”
David Hogg speaks to Michigan State University students as they gather to protest gun violence a week after a mass shooting at the State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan, on Feb. 20, 2023. (Reuters/Emily Elconin)
The former official shared the optimistic view that “Hogg’s departure will enable the Party to focus fully on prioritizing issues that really matter to both the base and the broader American public — the economy, inflation, continued sky-high prices of groceries and everyday life, health care — and clear the way for Hogg to make his own opinions heard without the process questions that come with being attached to the apparatus.”
Free submitted her complaint following the DNC’s Feb. 1 officer elections, in which Hogg and Kenyatta were elected vice chairs. Free claimed the DNC’s tabulation method violated the charter’s provision and parliamentary procedure and “discriminated against three women of color candidates.”
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“This was never about Malcolm Kenyatta or David Hogg,” Free told Fox News Digital after the Credentials Committee elevated her complaint before the full DNC. “For me, this was about ensuring that the Democratic Party lives up to our ideals as the only political party to believe in and stand up for election integrity and a free and fair democracy.”