February 3, 2025
Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta Elected To Serve As Democratic National Committee’s Vice Chair
Congratulations, VC Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta!
Pennsylvania State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta was elected to serve on the Democratic National Committee as Vice Chair, Temple News reports.
He won the election on Feb. 1, day one of Black History Month 2025, announcing the news on X. “Thank you, Democrats! Last night I was honored to be elected Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee,” he wrote. “Now let’s get to work rebuilding our party: for our future and for our working families!”
Kenyatta will serve next to newly-elected chair Ken Martin, the longtime leader of Minnesota’s Democratic Party organization, and will continue to represent the state’s 181st District. Announcing his candidacy in January 2025, the Temple University alum is preparing to work alongside other vocal advocates and vice chairs, including Artie Blanco, a union and Latino civic engagement advocate from Nevada, and David Hogg, a Parkland High School shooting survivor and gun violence activist from Florida. Kenyatta celebrated their wins, saying they had “inspired him for years.” “My fellow Vice Chairs at Large — @ArtieBlancoSays and @davidhogg111 — have inspired me for years and now we get to be in this fight together for a future that working families deserve!,” he wrote.
Kenyatta first popped on the political scene in 2018, becoming the first openly LGBTQ+ person of color elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly and being the youngest, according to Democrats.org. He continued to make history in the years following. In 2022, Kenyatta was named the first openly LGBTQ+ person of color in American history to run for a U.S. Senate seat. The following year, he was appointed by former President Joe Biden to serve as chair of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans.
During the 2024 general election, Kenyatta secured close to 3.1 million votes, resulting in being the second-highest total vote for any Democrat on the ticket that year.
With leaders like Kenyatta and Martin on board, the new chair, succeeding former DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, Martin said it’s time to get back to the fight, sending a message directly to President Donald Trump and the Republican Party. “Donald Trump, the Republican Party, this is a new DNC. We are not going to sit back and not take you on when you fail the American people,”
Martin said shortly after his victory: “The role of the party is not just to go out there and build the infrastructure. It’s also to make sure we’re defining them. And we’re out there making sure the American people know what the stakes of not only these coming elections are, but what’s happening in this country.”
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