To: Members of the Democratic National Committee

The debate about whether Ken Martin should remain as DNC chair misses the essential point: The Democratic Party establishment is out of touch with its voter base, as polling has shown for several years now. Whether Martin is replaced or not, the DNC should resolutely move to align itself with popular policies that strong majorities of Democratic voters want, such as Medicare for All, adequately taxing billionaires, free public college, ending automatic support for Israel, and serious regulation of AI.

The DNC doesn’t just have a political problem; it has a closely related fundraising problem. The Republican National Committee has far more cash on hand than the DNC, to say nothing of the DNC’s outstanding debts. Establishment insiders want to present the DNC’s fundraising woes as separate from its political misalignment with the party’s base. Yet both are part of the same phenomenon. Grassroots donors do not want to support a party that is stagnant, unpopular, and incapable of presenting a countervailing vision to Trump’s agenda as it undermines Americans’ economic security and our country’s democratic structures.

Whoever chairs the DNC heading into the 2026 midterms, and beyond, can only attain grassroots trust in the party by acting to close the gap between party elites and disaffected Democrats across the country.

RootsAction

May 28, 2026

To read “Autopsy: How Democrats Lost the White House,” click here.

RootsAction.org