New York state senator announces run for head of Democratic National Committee

State Sen. James Skoufis, D-N.Y., on Saturday announced his run for the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. 

“In speaking with a lot of DNC members and the broader Democratic Party, we are looking for a fresh perspective,” he said in an interview with The Hill.

“I think I bring a healthy mix of a track record of knowing how to win over the past 12 years but also being that younger, fresher perspective," he added. 

Skoufis has served in the New York State legislature since 2023 and before that was in the lower chamber as an assembly member.

He told The Hill that he will offer a fresh perspective as the chairman, because he's not an "establishment" type politician. 

“We have, many times over, had a DNC chair who’s been a DC beltway guy or who’s been a longtime party operative or comes from machine politics,” Skoufis said. “I don’t come from any of those places and I think that’s a good thing.” 

Others who are running for the position include former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, DNC vice chair Ken Martin, Ambassador to Japan and former mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, and Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler, also according to The Hill. 

“If someone believes in a strong border as I do, they should not be labeled as racist by elements of our party. If someone voted for Donald Trump, we should not be condescendingly telling them that they voted against their own best interests,” Skoufis continued. “We need to stop telling people the economy is doing swimmingly well when they go to the grocery store and see front and center for the past number of years that it is absolutely not.” 

“It’s not rocket science,” he added in the interview. “It’s being normal. It’s not speaking academic, weird terms. It’s meeting people where they are. It’s not sending people 700 texts asking people to chip in five dollars over the course of a three week span leading up to the election.”