Former Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Jaime Harrison blasted the party for treating him like a “rubber stamp” rather than giving him real influence during his tenure.
The remarks came during the South Carolina Democratic Party’s annual convention, where black leaders and activists gathered to process their party’s loss to President Donald Trump and search for a path forward. Harrison, who opted not to seek reelection as the DNC chair, said he felt dismissed by top brass and warned that DNC officials “can’t just be nice ornaments” in an interview with The Washington Post. (RELATED: ‘I Am Naming Names’: DNC Chair Says He’s Going Scorched Earth On Party When Term Ends, Defends Identity Politics)
“I feel like, as chair, my voice was not always heard, that I was taken for granted. I was seen as somebody just to rubber-stamp and not to actually have a seat at the table to influence certain things,” Harrison told the Post. “And that has to change.”
The former chairman expressed particular frustration over November’s election results, suggesting party advisers ignored his strategic expertise.
“We actually have to have a substantive and real role in terms of directing this party and moving this party forward,” he said.
Harrison’s complaints come as black Democratic leaders across the country wrestle with their party’s floundering performance, particularly among black voters who didn’t turn out as strongly for Harris as expected. Black men shifted toward the GOP in 2024, while Harris performed 7% worse than Biden among black voters overall, according to an analysis from left-wing data firm Catalist.
The tensions were apparent at the South Carolina convention, where attendees and leaders openly questioned the party’s strategy and leadership vacuum heading into the 2026 midterms and 2028 presidential race. (RELATED: DNC Moves To Void David Hogg’s Election To Party Vice Chair On Technicality)
“Trump took all our steam out of us and we’re still searching for a leader right now,” Daryl Scott, a retired Army veteran who attended the convention, told the outlet. “There’s none. Name one. Where are they? They feel embarrassed because they didn’t deliver.”
Multiple Democratic officials told the Post they felt national party leaders took black voters for granted in 2024, with some expressing disappointment in Biden’s decision to run for reelection and strategic decisions made by Harris after she replaced him on the ticket.
South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain criticized the Harris campaign for not prioritizing black voters highly enough — instead courting centrists and moderate Republicans.
“We can’t lose our most dependable base because we’re chasing rainbows,” Spain said. “You’ve gotta know where your bread is buttered. Invest there.”
The weekend gathering also featured visits from potential 2028 presidential candidates Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who was Harris’s running mate. Moore implored Democrats to become “the party of ‘yes’ and ‘now’” while delivering real policy wins.
Neither the DNC nor the South Carolina Democratic Party responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
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