Bernie Sanders’ delegates to the Democratic convention want Donna Brazile out as interim chairwoman of the Democratic Party. Now.
A straw poll by the Bernie Delegates Network found 96 percent of the 353 voters urging Brazile to step down. RootsAction.org, which sponsored the poll, afterward launched a petition drive.
The delegates were active at the convention seeking ways to win the nomination for Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont who mounted a strong challenge to nominee Hillary Clinton.
They’re furious because of news recently that Brazile gave the Clinton campaign advance notice of a question to be asked during a Democratic primary debate. Brazile has said she “never had access to questions.”
The Democratic Party had no immediate response Monday to the Sanders’ delegates demand.
“We believe the DNC chair must reflect the base of the Democratic Party and the mission for which this party long stood,” said Donna Smith, executive director of Progressive Democrats of America. “Clearly, when the party leadership failed to conduct itself impartially during the primary season and then failed to defeat the Republican candidate who is the most dangerous demagogue ever elected to the presidency, it is time for Donna Brazile’s resignation.”
Sanders is backing Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., for party chairman. The Democratic National Committee is expected to choose a new chairman at its meeting in January. Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean is running, and Martin O’ Malley, a 2016 Sanders-Clinton rival and former governor of Maryland, is considering the race. South Carolina Democratic Chairman Jaime Harrison is also thought to be weighing a bid.
David Lightman: 202-383-6101, @lightmandavid
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