Democratic strategist and former Bernie Sanders advisor Chuck Rocha described his plan to potentially run to lead the Democratic National Committee.
As the field for a new DNC head grows, Rocha suggested he could be the next one to throw his cowboy hat into the ring. However, he clarified that it would ultimately depend on who else is running and the rules for running.
“I want to see the rules. I want to see what actually the rules are going to be to run. I talked to the DNC this weekend. They’re going to be releasing rules in the next week or two. I don’t want to jump in until I know the rules and I want to see who else is getting in,” Rocha said on CNN News Central Wednesday.
Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison will likely not be seeking a second term after the 2024 election. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The race for a new DNC head came after the Democratic Party suffered major losses in the White House, House and Senate. Rocha argued the way to fix the party is to appeal to the average voter again.
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“I want to do this because I want to return the party back to what we were when I joined it, fighting for middle class values, being the party of workers, being the party of the common man, making Democrats fun again. If there‘s somebody else that can do that, I‘m going to jump in behind them and run their campaign if I can. But if nobody does, that’s when I put my name forward,” Rocha said.
He added, “Because you can see in the last election, working people have left the Democratic Party in droves, folks without a college degree. I‘m the only senior national Democratic operative without a college degree. I am one of these people. I don‘t need a focus group. I grew up this way. These men that are leaving the party, I was that man 20 years ago driving the truck, hunting and fishing, probably doing a lot of dumb things. I know how to talk to them, so I think that that‘s why it would be important to have somebody like me for me there.”
Rocha also claimed that the Democratic “brand” was damaged because of the party’s focus on policy instead of reaching out to people.
Some Democrats have already announced their bid to head the DNC over the last week. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)
“I think that too many times all our polices are always right when it comes to working people. It’s how we talk about these people. Many times, I say we bring a policy book to a boxing match. This is a fight. We don’t need to be there explaining the nuances of policy. We can be there fighting and making people know we‘re fighting for them,” Rocha said. “I think the reason we lost those people is they don‘t trust the brand anymore. They know the policies are with them. We can explain the policies, but it‘s the brand that needs fixing. The Democrats are going to be the brand of workers and Republicans are the brand of bosses.”
Rocha hoped he or a new DNC leader could bring about a party of Democrats who “are a little bit conservative and a little bit liberal” when defending its stances.
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“We‘ve got to get back to owning that space and being a little bit tougher and not afraid to kind of beat our chest,” Rocha said.
So far, two other people have announced their runs for DNC chief.
Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha explained why he would want to run for DNC chief after the party’s recent losses. (CNN screenshot)
Former two-term Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, a 2016 Democratic presidential candidate who for the past year has served as Social Security administration commissioner in President Biden’s administration, announced his candidacy on Monday.
Ken Martin, head of the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party, announced his candidacy on Tuesday.
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Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser and Lee Ross contributed to this report.