DNC Chair Ken Martin is firing up Democrats ahead of the U.S. midterm elections, declaring that the party has just “three short months” to fight back and win power.
Martin urged Democrats to unite, go on offense and focus their campaign against Donald Trump and Republicans, while building a broader Democratic coalition.
In his speech, Martin also emphasized voter mobilization and the need for Democrats to expand their reach ahead of Election Day.
Watch the full remarks as Ken Martin lays out his strategy for the upcoming midterm elections and makes a direct appeal to Democrats looking to challenge Trump’s political influence.
#KenMartin #DNC #Democrats #Trump #Midterms #MidtermElections #DonaldTrump #USPolitics #DemocraticParty #Republicans #Election2026 #AmericanPolitics #PoliticalNews #TrumpNews #BreakingNews
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Martin urged Democrats to unite, go on offense and focus their campaign against Donald Trump and Republicans, while building a broader Democratic coalition.
In his speech, Martin also emphasized voter mobilization and the need for Democrats to expand their reach ahead of Election Day.
Watch the full remarks as Ken Martin lays out his strategy for the upcoming midterm elections and makes a direct appeal to Democrats looking to challenge Trump’s political influence.
#KenMartin #DNC #Democrats #Trump #Midterms #MidtermElections #DonaldTrump #USPolitics #DemocraticParty #Republicans #Election2026 #AmericanPolitics #PoliticalNews #TrumpNews #BreakingNews
~HT.410~PR.462~ED.420~GR.508~VG.HM~
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00:00It will battle test our nominee. It will require them to earn support from every
00:04corner of this coalition. It will make them a better candidate. And it will put
00:08them in the strongest possible position, not just to win a primary, but to win
00:14back the White House in 2028. Hello Democrats. I hope everyone has had a
00:19great time these past three days in Austin. As I mentioned, Chair Kendall
00:23Scudder and the entire team at the Texas Democratic Party has been such
00:27incredible host for all of us here. Now for long as I can remember, Democrats
00:32have talked about flipping Texas blue. It's our white whale that some
00:37people say. It's impossible others respond. And here's what I say to that. It
00:43always seems impossible until it happens. There is no such thing as a permanent red
00:49state or a permanent blue state. In politics, nothing is permanent. Not even
00:55Ken Paxton, right? Although God knows he seems determined to test the theory, but
01:01we're going to prove them wrong this time. Winning here in the Lone Star State, just
01:05like winning anywhere in this country, is not impossible. But nobody is going to
01:09hand it to us. It takes hard work. It takes great candidates. It takes a vision for the
01:14country. And it takes grit and determination. And if there's one thing I've
01:18learned about Texas Democrats, Kendall, you all have enough grit to sand down a pickup
01:24truck. So it takes coordination from the county parties to the state party to the
01:30national party. And most of all, it takes committed people working day in and day
01:35out, whether the pundits think we can win or not. Because guess what? Pundits don't
01:40cast votes. Ballots. Voters do. It can be done. It can be done with amazing candidates
01:47like Gina Hinojosa and James Tallarico.
01:53With all-star recruits like Bobby Pulido and Johnny Garcia and Katie Padilla-Stout. With
01:59Democratic candidates surging across our nation. Democrats are going to win back power in three
02:05short months. And we're going to do something radical with that power. We're
02:10going to use it. We're going to use it to improve people's lives. Imagine that. We're
02:15not going to do what Republicans have done, sitting on their power and using it to enrich
02:20the already wealthy, all while kids go hungry and families lose their health care. We're
02:25not going to build golden ballrooms. We're going to make sure Americans can afford the
02:29living rooms they already have.
02:32And Democrats, we're going to restore the American dream. And that work starts today.
02:38Today we come together to set our path forward for our party and our country. Today, we vote
02:44on the proposed early window of our 2028 presidential nominating process. A group of six states, states
02:54that truly represent our party and our values. South Carolina, Nevada, New Hampshire, New
03:01Mexico, Michigan, Virginia, and of course, all of those states that will come after six
03:07states to begin our roadmap back to the White House. I want to thank the Rules and Bylaws Committee
03:13for their rigorous work on this proposal. Led by the great chairs, Jim Roosevelt and Mignon Moore, thank you.
03:25Democrats, this is much bigger than a lineup of dates on a calendar. This is about our approach to winning
03:31back the presidency. It's about the kind of Democratic Party and the kind of country we aspire to be. And
03:38as we think about
03:39our future, our past can serve as a guide. Under FDR, our New Deal coalition grew to include big city
03:47residents
03:47and small town Americans, rural southerners and northern labor unions, progressive idealists
03:53and working class families, people who have been pushed to the margins, including religious, racial and ethnic minorities.
04:00The Democratic Party, this Democratic Party welcomed all of them into this big tent party of ours. Together,
04:09Democrats pulled the country out of the Great Depression. We got people working again. And we passed the largest
04:15anti-poverty program in our nation's history, the Social Security Act, which celebrated its 91st anniversary just yesterday.
04:26Democrats, this is our history. And it can be our future. We can move this beautiful nation beyond the grip
04:33of a man who is
04:34wrecking our economy, corrupting the people's government and destroying our standing across the world. Republicans can anchor
04:41themselves to Trump and defend his price hikes and green light his authoritarian overreach. But you know what?
04:48If you anchor yourself to a sinking ship, don't act surprised when you end up underwater. Right?
04:55Democrats, we are going to offer something different. We will be the party of neighbors helping neighbors,
05:01the party of hard work paying off, the party of people who believe our children ought to have more opportunity
05:06than we did. The party of dreamers who believe, as my first boss Paul Wellstone used to say,
05:12that we all do better when we all do better. You see, Republicans have broken their trust with the
05:18American people. Remember how Trump promised to bring down prices on day one? Day one, he said.
05:24Well, we're well past day one. Someone must have misplaced the lower prices button for him because
05:31instead, Americans have gotten skyrocketing costs from a reckless trade war and an actual war
05:36with Iran. People in this country have every right to feel betrayed. They were given false promises.
05:44They were lied to, and Republicans know it. So now, rather than accept accountability,
05:50they're waging a ruthless campaign to avoid it. At Trump's command, Republicans have sought
05:55to roll back the Voting Rights Act and stripped away protections for black and brown voters
06:00throughout this nation. After the Supreme Court ruling in Louisiana v. Calais, Republican legislators have
06:06redrawn electoral maps, especially across the South. More than a dozen members of the Congressional
06:13Black Caucus are at risk of being drawn out of their seats because of Trump's racial gerrymandering.
06:19Let's call this what it is. When you can't win more voters, you try to choose your voters.
06:24When you can't defend your record, you try to rig the rules. When democracy becomes inconvenient,
06:30you try to make democracy smaller. We will not let them. Democrats will not let them.
06:38We have the most powerful tool there is to stop them. Winning elections, winning governorships,
06:45winning state legislatures, winning Congress, and slamming the brakes on this corrupt power ground.
06:51But our challenge isn't just beating Republicans in the next election. It's meeting the moment that we're in
06:57right now. Because Americans are tired of politics feeling like a game we play every four years.
07:04They're tired of politics being covered like a horse race. Who's up? Who's down? Who's raised what?
07:10Who's tweeted what? Who's having a good week? You know who doesn't get the luxury of an off cycle?
07:17The family whose rent is due on the first. That's real life. Making rent, making rent is real life.
07:26Finding a good job is real life. Paying for groceries is real life.
07:31Sending your kid to a good school is real life. Taking care of your parents is real life.
07:37None of that is a game. And Democrats are challenges to rise to the occasion and deliver for the people
07:43of this country.
07:44And I know that we're up to it. We need to restore Americans' trust in a democracy that can still
07:50deliver.
07:50In a government that can actually make lives better. And to do that, Democrats, we need to show up.
07:56We need to give communities a reason to trust us. Over the past year and a half, all across the
08:02country,
08:03Democrats have been working to build that trust. All of you have been working to build that trust.
08:07Not by parachuting in three months before our election day. Not with a flashy ad campaign or a celebrity endorsement.
08:15But with the honest-to-goodness work of grassroots organizing. Think about that.
08:23Consider the example of Mississippi Democrats who, in 2025, came to the DNC with the proposal to flip some state
08:30legislative seats.
08:31I said, let's get it done, because I believe in Democrats. I believe in our Democratic Party.
08:36And I believe that there's no such thing as a permanent blue state. No such thing as a permanent red
08:40state.
08:41And that we cannot sacrifice state and local power just to focus on federal power.
08:48We can do both, Democrats. We can walk and chew gum at the same time.
08:52We can build power up and down the ballot throughout this country.
08:57And you know what happened as a result of that? They executed their proposal and they broke the Republican supermajority
09:04in their state Senate.
09:05That's what Mississippi Democrats did.
09:10You know, every so often there are moments in politics where you can feel the ground shifting under your feet.
09:17And winning in Mississippi last year was one of those moments.
09:20It happened in Iowa with Kaitlin Dray. And in Florida with Emily Gregory.
09:25And in Georgia with Eric Gisler. And in Louisiana with Chassidy Martinez.
09:30And right here in Texas with Taylor Amet.
09:33Think about that. Red districts. All of those red districts.
09:38Some of them districts that Trump won in 2024 by double digits.
09:42And all of them red to blue flips because of a focused candidate, a relentless economic message,
09:48and a belief in grassroots organizing.
09:51That is what the Democratic Party is all about.
09:54That's what it was founded on. That's where its future lies.
09:58And that is why we are investing our hard-earned resources in the work that wins elections.
10:04In every corner of our country from Michigan to Missouri, Arizona to Georgia, Democrats are showing up.
10:10We're hiring staff during the off year. We're maintaining permanent capacity.
10:15We're opening new field offices. And we're moving away from a broken system of boom and bust cycles.
10:21And we're listening to those who feel forgotten by politics. Ignored by politics.
10:26And frankly, even targeted by politics.
10:29We're showing that we can bring people together whose lives may look very different, but whose hopes for our country
10:37are remarkably similar.
10:39A good job. A safe neighborhood. A healthy family. A fair shot.
10:46Just a little breathing room at the end of the month. And the belief that tomorrow can be better than
10:52today.
10:52So Democrats, we don't accomplish that by asking fewer people to participate.
10:57We don't strengthen our party through stricter and stricter litmus tests.
11:01You do not build a majority by constantly looking for reasons to throw people out of it.
11:07We build a winning coalition by widening the circle. Expanding the tents. Growing our coalition by building a home for
11:15Americans of all walks of life.
11:17And by dedicating ourselves to the work of democracy as messy and as boisterous and as unruly as it can
11:24be.
11:25And yes, Democrats, I know that we can be boisterous.
11:29I've attended a Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting. I have witnesses about that, so.
11:35But today, our Rules and Bylaws Committee co-chairs will present for your ratification our historic early calendar.
11:41As I mentioned, South Carolina, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Michigan, and Virginia.
11:51Six states. Different regions. Different communities. Different experiences.
11:57But together as one, our roadmap to the White House.
12:00This Rules and Bylaws Committee, the largest and most Democratic Rules and Bylaws Committee in our party's history,
12:08put together this calendar after a rigorous and public process.
12:11Our 2028 nominee, whoever they are, will have to earn the support across the full breadth of America.
12:19Every region. Every demographic. Every generation. Every economic station in life.
12:25No shortcuts. No coronation. You want to lead this party? You go earn it. Go and earn it.
12:33This early calendar reflects that diversity.
12:38More than 4.6 million black Americans call these six states home.
12:42A nearly 160% increase from the 2020 early window.
12:47More than 4.2 million Latinos call them home.
12:50Nearly 1.4 million Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders.
12:54And nearly 370,000 Native Americans.
12:58Yet our commitment to elevating critical voices in the early calendar goes even further.
13:03The six early states are home to more than 14 million Americans without a college degree.
13:08More than 2.8 million young people.
13:11More than 1.1 million union workers.
13:14And then more than 2.1 million veterans and military family members.
13:18And more than 4.4 million Americans with disabilities.
13:23That is America, everybody.
13:28Our party doesn't run from diversity. We embrace it. We celebrate it.
13:33We give millions of Americans a voice in our democracy and a stake in its future.
13:37Think about the people who we're trusting to vet our presidential candidates.
13:42The nurse coming home from an overnight shift.
13:45The parents standing in the grocery aisle doing math in their heads.
13:50The veteran beginning a new chapter in life.
13:53The union member fighting for a fair day's pay for a hard day's work.
13:57The small business owner lying awake thinking about payroll and thinking about tomorrow.
14:03And the young voter preparing to cast a ballot for the first time.
14:08These voters deserve presidential candidates who will look each of them in the eye.
14:13Listen to their concerns.
14:15Answer their questions.
14:17And earn their votes.
14:18Not candidates who fly over them.
14:21Not candidates who take them for granted.
14:24Not candidates whose entire understanding of America comes from a donor retreat or a polling memo.
14:30Go meet the people you seek to represent.
14:33That's what this process requires.
14:36And that is something every Democrat can be proud of.
14:39As a result of this calendar, we have a stronger, more representative path to selecting our nominee.
14:45It will battle test our nominee.
14:47It will require them to earn support from every corner of this coalition.
14:50It will make them a better candidate.
14:52And it will put them in the strongest possible position, not just to win a primary, but to win back
14:59the White House in 2028.
15:01So look, if you believe in a Democratic Party that upholds democracy,
15:08if you believe in a Democratic Party that uplifts and celebrates our diversity,
15:12if you believe in a Democratic Party that can widen the circle of opportunity,
15:16if you believe that working people, not just the wealthy and the powerful, deserve a government that fights for them,
15:22then I ask you to support this calendar.
15:24Now Democrats, there will always be people telling us what can't be done.
15:28They told us Texas couldn't change.
15:30They told us coalitions couldn't grow.
15:32They told us social security was impossible.
15:35That civil rights were impossible.
15:36That marriage equality was impossible.
15:38That electing the first black president was impossible.
15:42Now look, impossible has a pretty lousy track record here in America.
15:48So let's stop letting other people define the limits of our ambition.
15:53Let's prove that democracy can still accomplish big things.
15:56Let's build a party big enough for the country we intend to lead.
15:59And let's come together today.
16:01Let's adopt this calendar.
16:03Then let's leave this room to organize our neighbors and win elections.
16:07And let's use our victories to make this country worthy of the people who call it home.
16:12Thank you so much, Democrats.
16:14Let's get to work.
16:15Let's get out there and win.
16:16I appreciate it.
16:36Thank you, John.
16:39Okay.
16:43Let me just say, I'm going to say one other thing and it's off script.
16:46I asked you all to do this in the caucuses.
16:50I'm not asking you just to vote for this.
16:52Vote yes for this.
16:53I'm asking you to enthusiastically support this.
16:56And then when you leave here to go back to your states
17:00and remind folks that you just made history
17:03and that this party just made history.
17:06I believe so passionately that democracy works when you bring more voices to the table.
17:11When you invite more people into the conversation.
17:14When you build a process that not only reflects America, but reflects the values of this party.
17:20I need each of you.
17:21You all are asking me, what can I do to help?
17:24This is the most important thing you can do to help.
17:26Leave this room and go out and be evangelists for what we just did today, which was to make history.
17:32I ask you of that.
17:34And now it is my great honor to introduce a great friend of mine, a great former DNC chairman.
17:42He had some rough days in there too, I think.
17:44So, but, but he came out and he won.
17:47And you know what?
17:49I'm so proud of what he's done since.
17:51Of course, he served as a great governor in Virginia.
17:55And as governor, he showed that when we elect Democrats, good things happen, right?
18:00He made record investments in public education and health care.
18:03He stood as a brick wall protecting a woman's right to choose against endless attacks on reproductive freedom.
18:09He became the first southern governor to officiate a same-sex marriage.
18:13And most importantly, he personally signed the restoration of voting rights for 206,000 Virginians,
18:20the product of 114-year-old Jim Crow law.
18:24And this fall, the voters in Virginia are going to enshrine that restoration of voting rights in their constitution once
18:30and for all.
18:31Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome my friend, our former chairman, the great governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe!
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