the biden transition
Jaime Harrison reportedly tapped as DNC chair
Jaime Harrison has reportedly been selected to serve as the next chair of the Democratic National Committee.
President-elect Joe Biden has chosen Harrison, the former South Carolina Democratic Party chair and 2020 Senate candidate, as his pick to chair the DNC, The New York Times reported on Thursday.
Harrison challenged Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) for his South Carolina Senate seat last year, losing the race to Graham but breaking fundraising records. The Times notes Harrison has been championed by House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), an ally of Biden's whose endorsement offered a key boost during the incoming president's 2020 campaign. Tom Perez, the current chair of the Democratic National Committee, previously decided not to seek another term. Harrison ran for DNC chair in 2017.
News of Biden's selection was confirmed by NBC News, which noted the DNC will meet next week to officially elect its next chair. NBC also writes that Harrison "has long advocated inside the DNC for greater investment in Southern states, which Democrats have often written off, a strategy allies say was vindicated by Democrats' recent wins in Georgia."