DNC Chair Candidate Vows to “Dismantle” Green Party Over 2024 Election Results if Elected
New York State Senator James Skoufis, a candidate for Democratic National Committee Chair, recently said he would go on “permanent offense” and “dismantle” the infrastructure of the Green Party if successful in his bid. Skoufis made the remarks last month on social media, specifically citing the results of the U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania.
Independent Political Report
By Jordan Willow Evans
January 14, 2025
“The Green Party spoiled another major race for us (PA SEN), just the latest on a very long list,” Skoufis wrote in an X post shortly before the New Year. “As [Democratic National Committee] Chair, I’ll go on permanent offense, not just taking up the legal fight during ballot access. We’ll dismantle these Republican-enablers’ infrastructure. The gloves come off.”
The Green Party itself did not respond to Skoufis’ comment; however, it reposted remarks from the party’s 2024 presidential nominee Dr. Jill Stein, who posted on X in response: “This DNC chair candidate is planning to make the Dems’ war on Greens permanent. Does anyone fight harder against democracy than the DNC?”
For example, a Data for Progress poll conducted in the final weeks of the election showed Hazou drawing limited support, primarily from self-identified independents and Republicans, with negligible statistical backing from Democrats. A Suffolk University poll showed similar trends. However, in both cases, the sample sizes were small, making any definitive conclusions difficult.
While it’s not clear what Skoufis meant by dismantling the Green Party’s infrastructure, the Democratic Party took an aggressive approach to third party efforts last year, especially those of the Green Party’s Dr. Jill Stein and independent presidential candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Cornel West. Throughout the 2024 election cycle, the party did things such as challenge state ballot access efforts, hire operatives tasked with countering these campaigns, launch attack ads against Stein, and briefly sought a project manager to attend events and collect campaign intelligence on third party and independent candidates, among other responsibilities.
Skoufis referenced the Green Party again last week, doubling down on his previous post by stating that the Democratic Party “needs to go on offense” and that, as Chair, he would build a “significantly larger team of in-house lawyers to take the fight to the Republican Party, the Green Party, and anyone trying to make it harder to vote.”
The Democratic National Committee will formally vote on its next chair on February 1. Skoufis is one of nearly a dozen candidates seeking the position, including Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chair Ken Martin, former Social Security Administration Commissioner Martin O’Malley, and past presidential hopeful Marianne Williamson. Incumbent Jaime Harrison is not seeking reelection.
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