Non-diverse field for DNC spot isn’t likely to solve Dems’ big problem with white male voters

After ousting David Hogg, the Democratic National Committee’s slate of vice chair candidates suggests the left’s purported strength remains its tent-growing weakness.

Last week, the vast majority of DNC members agreed to redo the vice chair election, thus voiding Hogg’s victory from earlier this year. Not only did the move follow the failed pillow entrepreneur’s public push to primary incumbents, it also came as a member of the committee — openly clamoring to appeal to young white male voters — challenged the original election outcome for allegedly favoring male candidates.

Profiles on the candidates leaned into the idea of “diversity” as a strength and detailed that the open spots included the male ballot, which Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta won again Saturday after his election was voided with Hogg’s, and the all-gender ballot which included the three candidates who lost during the initial vote despite their “impressive resumes.”

The 3 women who lost had impressive resumes:

Shasti Conrad – Chair of the Washington Dem party; former Executive Assistant to Obama Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett

Jenna Repass – Chair of the Kansas Dem Party

Kalyn Free – first woman and Native American to be elected district… pic.twitter.com/k49cnx3WaN

— Candidly Tiff (@tify330) April 30, 2025

Described as the “first woman of color and youngest chair of the Washington State Democrats” in her bio, Shasti Conrad previously served as a senior staff assistant in President Barack Obama’s White House and on the 2020 presidential campaign for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders before starting a political action committee focused on “electing Black womxn” and another targeting Gen Z voter turnout.

She told The Hill, “I would really love to see, you know, more engagement, more connectivity with our caucuses and our councils, both at the national level” and the state level.

Kansas State Party Chair Jeanna Repass previously ran for secretary of state during the 2022 primary and was described by the Kansas Democratic Party as “the first Black and Latina woman to hold [her] title … in Kansas history.”

“My experience as the chair of the Kansas Democratic Party gives me a unique perspective for how our national party can not only make inroads with voters in red states but also win in these tough elections,” The Community Voice reported her saying.

Kalyn Free, the third candidate on the all-gender ballot, is a member of the Oklahoma DNC and was responsible for filing the challenge against the original election outcome, arguing it gave an unfair advantage to male candidates.

The complaint from the Choctaw Nation member and attorney described the “fatally flawed election that violated the DNC Charter and discriminated against three women of color candidates.”

“Indian country is critically important, obviously, to me, but it should be important to DNC leadership,” Free told The Hill before referencing her husband’s wedding vows that she had penned. “My husband vowed to never give aid, comfort, solace, or financial support to any Republican ever running for office. That’s how serious I take my Democratic values and how serious I am about building this party.”

As for Kenyatta, the “first openly LGBTQ candidate of color” elected to the Pennsylvania legislature lost the primary ahead of the election of Sen. John Fetterman in 2022 and also lost the 2024 election against incumbent Pennsylvania Auditor General Timothy DeFoor (R).

Meanwhile, while the party embarked on a plan to spend $20 million to figure out how to talk to men, DEI continued to get slammed ahead of the final outcome of the vice chair election.

Another feckless DEI hire by the Democrats.

— MarcoRizzolo (@MarcoRizzolo) June 15, 2025

All have sufficient attributes.

— HamptonLiberal (@LiberalHam7060) June 15, 2025

Tics all the boxes

— Travis Buckwheat (@TravisBuckwheat) June 15, 2025

Checks all the boxes. Black, gay, and gender undefined.

— kyleb57 (@nytisfailing) June 16, 2025

And if they don’t do what they’re told, the elections will be held again.

— Freedom of Press (@mywitsendalso) June 16, 2025

Staff Writer

Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn’t researching current events and their impacts, you’ll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.

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