David Hogg leaving DNC leadership role after plan to primary Democrats draws criticism

Activist David Hogg is exiting his role as Democratic National Committee vice chair, he said Wednesday, after months of controversy sparked by his plan to back primary challenges against Democrats he claims are “asleep at the wheel.”

Hogg announced he will not run in a planned redo of this year’s DNC vice chair elections, shortly after the party voted to void Hogg and Malcolm Kenyatta’s victories in the DNC’s vice chair elections earlier this year. The revote is not related to Hogg’s push to primary elected Democrats, but it came after Hogg drew stiff criticism over the plan.

“It is clear that there is a fundamental disagreement about the role of a Vice Chair — and it’s okay to have disagreements. What isn’t okay is allowing this to remain our focus when there is so much more we need to be focused on,” Hogg said in a statement issued through his political action committee, Leaders We Deserve. “Ultimately, I have decided to not run in this upcoming election so the party can focus on what really matters. I need to do this work with Leaders We Deserve, and it is going to remain my number one mission to build the strongest party possible.”

DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a statement, “I commend David for his years of activism, organizing and fighting for his generation, and while I continue to believe he is a powerful voice for this party, I respect his decision to step back from his post as Vice Chair.”

Hogg, 25, rose to fame after he survived the deadly 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting and helped lead the March for our Lives pro-gun control movement. He was elected to one of the DNC’s vice chair positions earlier this year.

Months after taking on the role, Hogg announced Leaders We Deserve will invest $20 million to support primary challenges against elected Democrats who are “either unwilling or unable to meet the moment” and are “asleep at the wheel while Trump is demolishing the economy.” The group will also back young Democrats aiming to flip GOP-held seats, he said.

The move came as Democrats — stung by last year’s presidential defeat and hobbled as the minority party in both chambers of Congress — debate how best to push back against President Trump. 

But Hogg’s announcement drew scrutiny from some Democratic heavyweights who believe party leaders should stay neutral in primaries and focus on ousting elected Republicans. Martin has argued DNC officials should be neutral because it avoids the perception that “party insiders could quietly influence outcomes.”

Matt Bennett, a campaign aide to former President Bill Clinton who now works for the centrist group Third Way, called it “insane behavior from a DNC official.”

Hogg has defended the Leaders We Deserve initiative, telling CBS News’ Major Garrett in April, “We have to show our base right now that we are doing everything we can to fight back against Donald Trump, and that includes holding ourselves accountable.”