Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin said Monday he has no intention of pushing democratic socialists out of the party’s coalition, even as Republicans intensify attacks tying Democrats to the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) ahead of the midterms.
Pressed during an MSNOW interview on whether the DSA has become a liability for Democrats, Martin defended the approach that he says guided his earlier political career in Minnesota.
“So let me just say, I’ve always taken a big-tent approach to how you build a party,” Martin said. “That’s why I was successful for all these years in Minnesota. I believe you win through addition, not subtraction. You win by growing your coalition, not shrinking it.”
MSNOW anchor Peter Alexander asked whether there might be a “middle ground” given how some Americans view the party’s left flank. Martin rejected the framing outright.
“No, not at all, because that’s where the vast majority of Americans are at,” Martin replied. “Maybe right in the middle, or a little center-left, or a little center-right. But it doesn’t mean we can’t bring new voices into the party, right? Of course, we have to keep growing and we have to keep expanding this tent.”
The exchange comes as the Republican National Committee has sharpened its attacks on Martin personally. “Democratic Party Chair Ken Martin embraces far-Left radicals who want to abolish the police, prisons, and borders,” the RNC wrote on X.
The DSA has called for abolishing police, prisons and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, eliminating immigration restrictions, and expanding public ownership. President Trump and Republican officials have repeatedly used the group to attack Democrats heading into November.
Earlier this month, Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers released a report estimating that adopting seven major DSA policies would add $49 trillion to federal deficits over ten years, equivalent to more than $350,000 per American household. A White House release accompanying the report went further, stating: “Make no mistake, these are the Democrats’ policies. They want to destroy our great, hard-fought nation, and plummet our economy and the very fabric of our nation into the ground.”
Not all Democrats share Martin’s posture. A number of mainstream party figures have sought to separate themselves from the DSA label, emphasizing their support for capitalism and social democracy rather than the group’s more sweeping proposals.
Fox News Digital reported that it had reached out to the Democratic National Committee for comment.
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