Candidates for Democratic National Committee leadership posts largely embraced President Joe Biden’s warnings of an oligarchy taking shape in America during a series of forums Thursday in Detroit that ran nearly eight hours.

Ben Wikler’s emergence as a contender to lead the Democratic National Committee means Wisconsin Democrats might soon need to find a new party chair.

The strategist who managed Bernie Sanders’s presidential race says the party needs vision and conviction “to restore a deeply damaged Democratic brand.”

Candidates seeking to lead the Democratic National Committee were pressed about President Joe Biden at a forum in Detroit.

Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams threw her support behind Wisconsin state party chair Ben Wikler in the race to take the helm of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). “Ben

Michigan state Senate Majority Whip Mallory McMorrow (D), a rising star in the party who spoke at the Democratic National Convention last year, is endorsing Wisconsin state party chair Ben Wikler to helm the Democratic National Committee.

Former Bernie Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir has thrown his hat in the ring. Since he’s joining the race just a couple weeks before the DNC’s members vote, it will be a challenge for him to catch the front-runners. But Shakir’s entry is significant nonetheless: Unlike most of his competitors, he wants to transform the party.

“Watching what Ben has built in Wisconsin shows ... people use in their real lives,” he said. Wikler is among eight candidates running for DNC chair. Other candidates include Minnesota state ...

Further down ballot, candidates also used the forum to discuss their own visions for how to correct what went wrong for Democrats in 2024. Anti-gun violence activist David Hogg is running for a DNC vice chair spot. He said the party had a problem with listening.

The Democrats who entered the DNC chair race first remain ahead in public DNC member commitments; the winner needs a majority of their 448 votes when the party meets outside DC on Feb. 1.

With just over two weeks until the Democratic National Committee chooses new officers, candidates for chair knew the stakes had been raised. And for two candidates in particular, it was time to take a few jabs at one another.