The Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) and MoveOn.org endorsed Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Ben Wikler for Democratic National Committee chair on Wednesday.
The Hill was the first outlet to report on the two endorsements.
“Ben is an organizer and he has built the most successful state party in America with the results to prove it by being an organizer,” PCCC founder Adam Green said in an interview with The Hill. “That is very different from being just a party hack or an establishment insider.”
“There’s lots of critiques about what Democrats did wrong or could do better going forward but all of them lead to something that is fresh and now and sends a signal that Democrats get it in terms of having to make some changes and having an organizer with a track record of winning elections,” he continued.
In a blog post on MoveOn.org, the group’s executive director Rahna Epting wrote that Wikler, who worked as Washington director for MoveOn.org, is someone “who can meet the moment” for Democrats going into the Trump administration.
Epting cited Wikler’s work defending the Affordable Care Act, along with his fundraising record and experience supporting Democrats in Wisconsin.
“Now, with Donald Trump back in office and Republicans controlling all branches of government, we need a DNC leader who can unite all facets of the Democratic Party, lead us in an effective fight taking on Republicans in their own turf, and win by raising and mobilizing the resources we need to be successful,” Epting wrote.
The PCCC’s endorsement comes hours after the center-left think tank Third Way backed Wikler. The two endorsements appear to show Wikler’s appeal to the party’s moderate and liberal wings.
“Ben is widely known as a special, one of kind leader who progressive grassroots organizations love and who Obama former campaign officials love,” Green said. “He unites the party and he does it because he’s effective, not because he’s milquetoast or transactional.”
Green noted that Wikler’s status as an economic populist has played a role in his successes as party chair in Wisconsin.
“There’s a lot of theories of the case after the 2024 election but pretty much everyone is acknowledging that Democrats need to reconnect to working class people and do so with a strong, economic populist message,” Green said. “Having that kind of keeper of the flame who is also the best state party chair in the nation be the DNC chair seems like a perfect down payment on the direction the Democratic Party needs.
In an interview with CNN announcing his bid, Wilker cited Democrats’ recent successes under his leadership despite President-elect Trump narrowly flipping the state last month.
“Over these last four years, we’ve won election after election,” he continued, citing Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s (D) reelection and Democratic state Legislature wins, along with President Biden’s win in the state in 2020, Gov. Tony Evers (D) winning election in 2022, and Democrats flipping the state’s Supreme Court majority.
Minnesota Democratic Chair Ken Martin, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D), and New York State Sen. James Skoufis have also launched bids for the committee’s top leadership role.
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