Updated September 26, 2025 at 5:02 AM EDT
ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Why is the head of the Democratic National Committee in a suburban Atlanta coffee shop on a random Saturday in September?
"We've got a really important state Senate special election here in Senate District 21, which we are investing in," DNC Chairman Ken Martin said last week. "And we believe we have a real shot at winning."
In the special election runoff Tuesday, Sep. 23, Democrats did not flip the deep-red seat. But Martin and others in the party view it as a win because the Democratic candidate, Debra Shigley, improved the party's margin by double digits from November.
For their part, Republicans aren't concerned. Georgia Republican Party Chairman Josh McKoon said in a statement that Republicans "cut through the noise" with a coordinated investment in digital and social media messages to get out the vote.
Still, in an interview with NPR before this week's elections, Martin said the Democratic Party is energized and voters are expressing enthusiasm after the party's defeat in November that saw them lose the White House and control of the Senate.
That enthusiasm has carried over to the ballot box: in about 40 special elections since President Trump was elected last November, Democrats have overperformed their prior margins by an average of about 15%.
Martin said some of that bump is because of Trump, and voters seeing a difference between his campaign promises and his governing, noting polling that shows Republicans losing ground with different groups who notably supported the president last year, like independents, young people and Hispanic Americans.
"The important thing to remember is midterm elections are not a referendum on a party that's not in power," Martin said. "So our numbers really don't matter here. Donald Trump is at an all-time low in terms of his favorability and his approval numbers… the Republican Party is as well."
But the numbers aren't great for the Democratic Party either, and opposition to Trump does not inherently mean voters like what Democrats are selling.
Voters have historically negative views about Congressional Democrats and the overall brand of the party, according to recent polls, and that dissatisfaction also comes from a notable share of self-identified Democrats.
Martin was elected chair of the DNC in February by party insiders after 14 years leading Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor party — a time when the party never lost a statewide race, he notes — and says the party is working on changing those negative perceptions.
"We can walk and chew gum at the same time," he said. "We can both resist Donald Trump while also giving people a sense of what we're fighting for and how their lives should improve with Democrats back in power."
As for those within the party who say Democrats aren't doing enough to win elections or to push back against Trump policies they don't like, Martin has a blunt response:
"Stop complaining," he said. "Roll up your sleeves and get in the game."
More diplomatically, the chairman points out he's been to 32 states since taking over in February, the DNC has been organizing in more places earlier than normal and there's been investment in behind-the-scenes infrastructure that doesn't grab as many headlines.
"And so, again, people ask what the DNC is doing? We're winning," he said. "We've been winning since I've been chair. And we're going to continue to win because we're doing the things that help put us in a position to do that."
Still, one of Martin's go-to quips is that "there's no brownie points when you come in second place," and that's the place that Democrats still find themselves in with little power in Washington.
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