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New York state Sen. James Skoufis is dropping out of the race to be the next chair of the Democratic National Committee, the lawmaker announced Thursday, endorsing Minnesota Democratic Party Chair Ken Martin for the job.
“Soon after November’s disastrous results, I did what I did when I was 25 and wanted to make an impact on my community – I took a breath and jumped into the race for DNC Chair. In doing so, I brought everything I know from my experience winning eight elections by large margins in deep red territory," Skoufis said in a statement. “While starting as a complete unknown outside of New York, I am proud of our aggressive campaign to deliver major change to the DNC and national party. Our message resonated with the large majority of DNC members who believe we can rebuild our party, rebuild trust with disaffected voters, refocus on working class priorities, and never cede even an inch of ground to Republicans. As an outsider, I didn’t enter this contest with any DNC relationships, but leave it having driven much of the debate and having left deep impressions with both supporters and many uncommitted DNC members. I’m humbled by and thankful for the party faithful who believed in our truth-telling campaign."
Skoufis represents the 42nd state Senate District in the lower Hudson Valley, which includes the city of Middletown, the town of New Windsor and West Point.
He was first elected to the state Senate in 2018. He previously served in the state Assembly and Woodbury Town Board.
Skoufis was reelected in November by 14 points in a district that the top of the ticket, Vice President Kamala Harris, lost by 10. He spoke with Capital Tonight on the future of the Democratic Party come January when Donald Trump returns to the White House and Republicans taking full control of Congress, as well as the party’s performance in New York state over the last few election cycles.
Skoufis used those election results, evaluation of the Democratic Party and being a Washington outsider as merits to his candidacy for the DNC job he announced in December he would run for.
“The years ahead will be tough. We will be on the outside. Working- and middle-class families will be absolutely soaked while Donald Trump and his weird billionaire friends will profit like pigs at a trough," Skoufis said. "The Democratic Party must be laser-focused on demonstrating our commitment to working men and women and fighting like hell to win races up and down the ballot. I am here for that fight and look forward to that fight, in all 50 states and all of America’s 3,244 counties, alongside Ken.”
The DNC will elect their next chair in February.
