David Hogg won’t run again to be a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee after weeks of internal drama over the Gen Z activist’s unorthodox efforts to remake the party.
The DNC decided in a Wednesday vote that it would hold new elections for two vice chair positions held by Hogg and Pennsylvania state lawmaker Malcolm Kenyatta. Last month, an internal panel determined that the two were not properly elected in February due to procedural issues, setting the stage for Hogg’s ouster.
Hogg shared his intention to step back shortly after voting concluded.
“I came into this role to play a positive role in creating the change our party needs,” he posted on X in a lengthy thread. “It is clear that there is a fundamental disagreement about the role of a Vice Chair—and it’s okay to have disagreements. What isn’t okay is allowing this to remain our focus when there is so much more we need to be focused on.”
“Ultimately, I have decided to not run in this upcoming election so the party can focus on what really matters,” he continued. “I have nothing but admiration and respect for my fellow officers. Even though we have disagreements, we all are here to build the strongest party possible.”
Hogg said he will now focus on his work with Leaders We Deserve—the political group whose mission to primary Democrats with younger leaders was at the center of the squabbling.
Hogg found himself in a public spat with DNC chairman Ken Martin after he announced in April the group he co-founded would spend $20 million backing primary challengers to what he called “ineffective” Democratic incumbents who are “asleep at the wheel.”
In a statement Wednesday, Martin said he respected Hogg’s decision to step down, and had “no doubt that he will remain an important advocate for Democrats across the map.”
Leaked audio shared by Politico last week shed light on just how high tensions had run. In the recording, Martin accused Hogg of destroying his chances at effective leadership by igniting the internal party clash.
“I’m trying to get my sea legs underneath of me and actually develop any amount of credibility so I can go out there and raise the money and do the job I need to to put ourselves in a position to win,” Martin said to Hogg in the May 15 meeting. “And again, I don’t think you intended this, but you essentially destroyed any chance I have to show the leadership that I need to. So it’s really frustrating.”
Hogg gained political prominence as a gun control activist after a mass shooting at his high school in Parkland, Florida, in 2018. His appointment to the DNC earlier this year was a generational shakeup for the party—he was just 24 when appointed, and the first Gen Z person in the role.
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