Former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley announces DNC candidacy

The Biden administration’s Social Security Administration commissioner, Martin O'Malley, plans to resign his post at the end of the month to run for Democratic National Committee chair, the New York Times reported on Monday. O’Malley confirmed the report Monday afternoon, making him the first person to publicly announce his candidacy in the 2025 Democratic National Committee chairmanship election. The Democratic Party needs to connect with everyday Americans at the kitchen table, he wrote on social media. The country needs economic security and a hope of getting things done, he added.

Who is Martin O'Malley? He served as the mayor of Baltimore for eight years before stepping down in 2007 to serve as the governor of Maryland until 2015. The former governor launched a failed run for president in 2016 before President Joe Biden tapped O’Malley to serve as the commissioner of the Social Security Administration in late 2023.

Who else will be in the race? Questions remain as to whether incumbent DNC Chair Jaime Harrison will push for re-election following the party’s loss in the 2024 election. Sources told Reuters about two weeks ago that Harrison had no plans to run again. Wisconsin’s state Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler and Minnesota’s Democratic Party Chair Ken Martin are reportedly considering joining the race, according to a report by NBC News, citing sources close to the DNC.

Dig deeper: Read Carolina Lumetta’s report on the 2024 Democratic National Convention