19 Facts About Ken Martin

Kenneth Nathan Martin was born on July 17,1973 and is an American politician serving since 2025 as chair of the Democratic National Committee.

Ken Martin was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on July 17,1973, and attended Eden Prairie High School.

Ken Martin graduated from the University of Kansas in 1996 with a BA in political science and history.

Ken Martin started his political work in 1990 as an intern for Minnesota US Senator Paul Wellstone's campaign and later interned in his official office.

In 1998, Ken Martin moved back to Minnesota and served as the political and field director for the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.

Ken Martin served as the deputy Minnesota State Director for the Gore campaign in 2000 and in 2002 was the campaign manager for secretary of state candidate Buck Humphrey.

In 2004, Ken Martin helped manage John Kerry's presidential campaign in Minnesota.

From 2001 to 2005, Ken Martin served as the policy aide for Ramsey County commissioner Susan Haigh.

Ken Martin served as the executive assistant to Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch and helped run his 2006 campaign for governor.

Ken Martin later served as the executive director of WIN Minnesota, a donor collaborative that helped develop, fund, and direct independent expenditures during the 2010 election cycle.

In 2011, Dayton asked Ken Martin to serve as chairman of the Minnesota DFL Party.

When Ken Martin was elected chair of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party in 2011, he inherited a state party deeply in debt after significant election losses, including losing the majority in the state senate for the first time in 40 years, the majority in the House of Representatives, and one of the longest-held Democratic seats in Congress with the defeat of Jim Oberstar in Minnesota's 8th congressional district.

Also in 2018, after trying for many years, Ken Martin persuaded Dean Phillips to run for Congress in Minnesota's 3rd district.

On February 6,2021, Ken Martin was elected to a sixth term as chairman of the DFL Party, making him the longest-serving chairman in the party's 75-year history.

In 2017, Ken Martin was elected by his peers nationwide as president of the Association of State Democratic Chairs, and thereby became a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee.

On January 21,2021, Ken Martin was unanimously reelected president of the ASDC.

Ken Martin was elected on February 1,2025, receiving 246.5 votes out of 428 cast on the first ballot.

In February 2025, Ken Martin published his first memo as DNC chair, "Democrats Will Fight Against Trump's War on Working People".

Ken Martin is active in youth sports in Eagan, where he has served on the Eagan Athletic Association board of directors and as president of the Eagan Basketball Association.