Is This the Worst Possible DNC Chair?

U.S. ambassador to Japan and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is floating the idea of running for chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

Axios reports that Emanuel, who also served in Congress from 2003 to 2009 and worked in the Obama and Clinton administrations, is considering the move after the Democrats’ losses in the 2024 election. The party lost control of the Senate as well as the presidency—and Republicans maintained a narrow majority in the House—leaving open questions about its future direction.

Democratic strategist David Axelrod, a friend of Emanuel’s, said on his podcast Hacks On Tap earlier this week that he would support the ambassador if he ran for the post.

“If they said, ‘Well, what should we do? Who should lead the party?’ I would take Ambassador Rahm Emanuel, and I would bring him back from Japan and I would appoint him chairman of the Democratic National Committee,” Axelrod said.

Since then, other Democrats have told Emanuel he should run, according to Axios. But Emanuel is likely to face opposition from progressives, especially due to his actions as mayor of Chicago. Emanuel’s handling of police violence as well as his record with the city’s public schools earned him a lot of criticism, and the Chicago Teachers Union is still mad at him. ​​

...The Cover up and School Closings Guy? Hard no.https://t.co/U2Xan3dNqi

— Chicago Teachers Union (@CTULocal1) November 15, 2024

While serving as White House chief of staff under President Obama, Emanuel also clashed with then–DNC chair Howard Dean, who was arguably the most successful party chair in the twenty-first century, with his “50 State Strategy.” Dean said in 2014 that he and Emanuel “obviously have a difference of opinion about how you get people elected.”

This would seem to indicate that Emanuel would be taking a different approach than Dean at a time when Democrats need a plan to take back Congress as well as recover at the state level. Emanuel also has a reputation for angrily going on profanity-laden tirades, which won’t win him friends in a position where one has to be on good terms with Democrats across the country. The fact that Emanuel has been disconnected from local and state politics for years also seems unlikely to help. Democrats are currently expected to tap someone with expertise at the grassroots level and an understanding of how Democrats are winning elections now—two things Emanuel sorely lacks.