Stacey Abrams backs Wisconsin state party chair as next DNC leader

Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams threw her support behind Wisconsin state party chair Ben Wikler in the race to take the helm of the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

“Ben has proven that with year-round voter protection, smart organizing and clear messaging, we can win — especially in states where our rights are being eroded,” Abrams told Politico, which was the first to report the news.

Meanwhile, ahead of the DNC’s first official candidate forum over the weekend, Minnesota state party chair Ken Martin touted more than 20 endorsements from state party leaders and DNC members in the South. The Minnesota Democrat has steadily been racking up endorsements from a handful of state party delegations and state party leaders across the country.

Martin and Wikler are among eight candidates running to be the next chair of the DNC. Other members are former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D), New York state Sen. James Skoufis (D), former Department of Homeland Security official Nate Snyder, former presidential hopeful Marianne Williamson, attorney Jason Paul and former Arkansas congressional candidate Quintessa Hathaway.

So far, Martin and O’Malley have publicly announced some of the highest number of DNC committee member endorsements. Martin’s team has said he has more than 100 endorsements from members while O’Malley’s team has said he has more than 60, including more recently Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.).

Wikler’s team has not publicly disclosed how many endorsements he has, but he’s received some prominent endorsements from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D) and several groups like centrist Third Way.

The candidates will have three more forums this month to make their case to DNC members about their chair candidacy. The chair election is Feb. 1.

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