Ken Martin hunkers down at the Democratic National Committee as a storm gathers around party leader

NEW YORK (AP) — Ken Martin is in survival mode.

Desperate to save his job as chair of the Democratic National Committee, he is avoiding media appearances, monitoring his critics' social media posts and refusing — at least so far — to make any substantive changes at his troubled organization.

A half dozen state leaders and other committee members, most of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal conversations, described Martin as defensive and extremely distrustful of others, even some people on his own team, as calls for his resignation grow louder among Democratic operatives who lament his leadership decisions, lackluster fundraising and even his tendency to lash out in anger.

But there is no sign that the organization's membership plans to replace Martin before the midterm elections in November, even as some wonder how much longer he can hold on.

"I sense no movement from the DNC to make a change, and so that decision's up to Ken. And he's told me he's in it, so I trust him on making that decision," said Colorado Democratic Party Chair Shad Murib, a DNC member and strong Martin supporter. "What we're seeing right now is a whole group of folks who live on Twitter and consultants fighting harder against Ken Martin than they've ever fought against Donald Trump."

Shannon Watts, the former leader of Moms Demand Action and a member of the DNC's finance committee in 2024, criticized Martin's lack of communication with donors and key stakeholders. "Ken needs to step aside. I think Ken knows he needs to step aside," Watts said. "There's a reason he's worried he's going to be fired and it's because he's not up to the job."

The growing chorus of criticism has shaken the confidence of Martin's loyalists. They were especially concerned about an essay this week by Rufus Gifford, the finance chairman for President Joe Biden's reelection campaign, who warned that the DNC under Martin's leadership was "spiraling toward irrelevance." "At this point, I think there is no saving Martin's chairmanship. He is a good man with good intentions but simply not meeting this critical moment," Gifford wrote on Substack.

Martin got a lifeline this week from New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader, who said while campaigning in Pennsylvania that Martin "has my full support."

Federal filings show that the DNC reported about $16.3 million in the bank with more than $18 million in debt at the end of June, compared with the Republican National Committee reporting more than $128 million in cash and no debt.

The DNC under Martin used the party's Washington headquarters as collateral to secure a $15 million line of credit last fall. His critics seized on the decision as an example of financial mismanagement, although the building was used as collateral under former party chairs as well.

Kansas Democratic Party Chair Jeanna Repass said Martin should be praised for his commitment to strengthening state parties at a critical moment. "This is a ridiculous conversation to be having right now," Repass said. "If people don't like Ken, they can have a conversation with him in two years. But right now, we all need to be behind the chair and keep our heads down and do our jobs."