Hogg Kicked Out of DNC

David Hogg has been creating problems for DNC chair Ken Martin since he got the job as vice chair back in February. By April Hogg was using his PAC Leaders We Deserve to support primary opponents against moderate Democrats. By mid-May the DNC’s Credentials Committee suggested Hogg and fellow vice chair  Malcolm Kenyatta were elected in violation of party rules on gender diversity and should both have their wins voided. 

Today the party voted to hold new elections.

In a 294-99 vote that concluded Wednesday, DNC members agreed to move forward with redoing the contest earlier this year that elected Hogg and another Democrat, Malcolm Kenyatta, as vice chairs. The DNC will now vote from Thursday through Saturday — and then Sunday through Tuesday — to fill the two slots, which both men can seek again…

While both Hogg and Kenyatta, a Pennsylvania state representative, can run in the new elections, they will go head-to-head for the first slot, which is meant for a male vice chair. The field for the second position, which is meant for a vice chair of any gender, includes three of their former rivals and whoever does not win the first redone election.

Hogg had opposed redoing the election, which the Credentials Committee endorsed in response to a complaint from Kalyn Free, an Oklahoma activist who unsuccessfully sought one of the vice chair slots in the Feb. 1 election. She argued the DNC broke its rules on gender diversity in party officer elections, invalidating the election that handed Hogg and Kenyatta their roles.

In theory, Hogg could run again, but he told the NY Times he will not do so.

In a letter provided to The Times, Mr. Hogg outlined his reasoning for quitting party leadership rather than running again for vice chair.

“I came into this role to play a positive role in creating the change our party needs,” he wrote. “It is clear that there is a fundamental disagreement about the role of a Vice Chair — and it’s OK to have disagreements. What isn’t OK is allowing this to remain our focus when there is so much more we need to be focused on.”

Mr. Hogg added, “Ultimately, I have decided to not run in this upcoming election so the party can focus on what really matters.”

The plan to primary Democrats was what led him to this point but it wasn’t the only embarrassment involving Hogg during his brief tenure. He also recently got caught in an undercover video sting by Project Veritas in which he suggested that Jill Biden’s Chief of Staff had an unusual amount of power in aging Joe Biden’s White House. And in a second clip he noted that Rep. Nancy Pelosi was remarkably good at stock trading, sort of suggesting one of the leaders of the party is guilty of insider trading.

Hogg became news again last weekend when Politico got hold of some audio tape of DNC Chair Ken Martin saying he was on the verge of giving up his job because of Hogg.

Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin told party leaders in a recent private conversation that he’s unsure about his ability to lead the party because of infighting created by Vice Chair David Hogg.

“I’ll be very honest with you, for the first time in my 100 days on this job … the other night I said to myself for the first time, I don’t know if I wanna do this anymore,” he said in a May 15 Zoom meeting of DNC officers, according to a recording obtained by POLITICO.

In the recording, an emotional Martin describes being deeply frustrated by the fallout over Hogg, who has ignited a firestorm in the party by vowing to spend $20 million in safe-blue primaries to oust incumbent Democrats he believes are ineffective. Martin paused twice while appearing to choke up…

“No one knows who the hell I am, right? 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, addressing Hogg. “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 is obviously not a team player or maybe it’s more accurate to say he’s not playing for the same team. His interest is in electing far left progressives, not Democrats who can actually compete in purple districts. In fact, some suspect the audio in which Ken Martin expresses his frustration was leaked by Hogg or someone working with him.

Several of the DNC leaders who participated in the call expressed support for Martin and accused Hogg or his supporters of leaking it. Hogg, for his part, denied he shared it.

Hogg did not actually deny having leaked it, at least not directly. He said he was being accused and then provide messages from a Politico reporter asking him for comments. 

A lot of people are accusing me of leaking this recording. These are the messages from the reporter who wrote the story. pic.twitter.com/TMggS9UDt6

— David Hogg 🟧 (@davidhogg111) June 8, 2025

He implies it wasn’t him but doesn’t say so outright. The leak might have come from someone working on Hogg’s behalf and not Hogg himself in which case the reporter might still send a query like this one.

Anyway, Hogg will go back to running his own organization and continue his push for gun control. Will the Democratic Party have learned anything from this? Maybe they have in this case: Don’t cozy up to far-left progressives who have no real investment in the current system.