DNC Chair Ken Martin Fires Back at Critics: ‘What Matters Is Winning’

Newsweek · Alex J. Rouhandeh · 2026-11-05 18:21 UTC

Critics called for his resignation. This week, DNC Chair Ken Martin delivered Democrats their largest victory in 50 years.

The 2026 midterm elections delivered the Democratic Party its largest victory since the post-Watergate election of 1974, which the Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin views as vindication of the 50-state organizing strategy he put in place after he was chosen in February 2025 to pull his party from the comprehensive defeat it faced in 2024.

Throughout Martin’s tenure at the DNC, his focus on rebuilding party infrastructure in long-overlooked red states was widely admonished by the party’s D.C. insiders who have complained that his policy of sending $1 million a month to state parties left national Democratic campaign coffers badly trailing their Republican counterparts. They described Martin as thin-skinned, paranoid and insular in his leadership style, and called for his ouster.

In some of his first comments in the wake of the midterm wins, Martin told Newsweek that he feels the results proved the wisdom of his ways.

Read the full story at Newsweek · All coverage of this story