Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee, said the “next presidential race in 2032 … will run through the Sun Belt of the South.” On Aug. 16, Martin touted that DNC was “investing in our Southern state parties and campaigns.” Then the committee eliminated Atlanta, the only Southern city in consideration for the Democratic National Convention. That means Martin has acknowledged the party stopped investing and building there and the work needed to compete and win here. The Democratic National Committee continues to find ways to screw things up. This is not about if Atlanta can host a convention (it can) or if Atlanta deserved to win the bid (it did). It is about the contradiction and strategic failure of eliminating the South from consideration and, at the “same damn time,” (in the voice of Future) declaring the South essential to the party’s future. Let’s be really clear, the South cannot be separated from Black voters. The majority of Black Americans live in the South, and Black voters are foundational to the Democratic coalition. Claiming to prioritize the South while failing to invest in it is not a strategy. It is a contradiction. The Democratic Party relies on Black voters, and we are expected to turn out when the presidency is at stake (and do). We are expected to rescue competitive Senate races (and did). We are expected to provide the margins in battleground states (and have). We are expected to stand as a firewall against Donald Trump and the movement…
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