The Democratic National Committee kicked off its summer meeting Monday in Minneapolis. CBS News political editorial producer Hunter Woodall has more details from Minnesota.

Minneapolis

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has started its summer meeting in Minneapolis, where party members are addressing questions about their future direction. The meeting opened with remarks from Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman, who recounted a recent political attack and called attention to the impact of violent rhetoric and misinformation on public servants. 

Party officials are also discussing strategies to strengthen their appeal to voters, particularly in light of financial disadvantages compared to the Republican National Committee and the need to shift messaging toward economic issues. Several governors, including Gavin Newsom, Tim Walz, Wes Moore, Andy Beshear, and Gretchen Whitmer, are being considered as potential future presidential candidates. DNC Chair Ken Martin emphasized the importance of focusing on working-class concerns and prioritizing electoral victories over online debates.

Democratic National Committee kicks off summer meeting

news 24 7 on the map now in Minnesota, where the Democratic Party faces questions about its future. This is, of course, the start of the Democratic National Committee's summer meetings. They're happening today and speaking right now is state Senator John Hoffman shot earlier this year amid some political assassinations and assassination attempts. Let's listen to his story happened here in Minnesota in the early morning darkness of June 14th with the political assassinations of Melissa and Mark and what happened to myself, my wife, Yvette and my daughter. Hope was pure evil. It was a political attack on public servants and public service, and it was aimed squarely and slowly at our party, and it was a wake up call. What is happening at a national level, the persistent dehumanizing narratives and conspiracy theories and public discourse are fueling the radicalization of individuals willing to engage in political violence against perceived opponents. Not okay. I'm still slowly recovering from my gunshot wounds. Nine of them. If you want to see the pattern on my body, it's the same pattern that's in my red door that I no longer have, although I do still have a long way to go. And what my daughter has endured on top of all this trauma with publications international objectifying her based on disability with narratives of the night that aren't even true. That's ableist and that's shameful, and I wish the media would stop leading the headlines with that. Thank you. CBS News political reporter Hunter Woodall joins us live now from Minneapolis. This party facing a lot of questions this week. What are some of the issues at the forefront of that meeting? Is the Democratic Party really looks to redefine themselves to appeal to voters in the next cycle? Well, that's the key factor here. As we continue to see Democrats struggle in these early days of President Trump's second term, there's this question of how much are they going to fight back? Voters clearly want to see Democrats resist the president in a major way, but how that manifest continues to be a major question. Now, at this time, the DNC actually has a major cash on hand disadvantage compared to the Republican National Committee. I said to some tensions in the party about the future direction as well as his current chair, Ken Martin. Mr Martin is a Minnesotan. He's a former chair of Minnesota's Democratic Party. It obviously has a close. He's a He's a close friend and has a lot of connections here in Minnesota. So the violence that we just heard Mr Hoffman, Senator Hoffman talk about obviously is deeply felt by Chair Martin. Well, you know, these issues really fuel whether people write out the checks or not for the next cycle. And in order to get people to write those checks out, either party really has to have that differentiating point, that talking point, that war drum. So let's talk about this. California Governor Gavin Newsom has really beat that war drum in the fight against President Trump. There's a lot of speculation that he could run for president. He's done that relative to pushing for California to redraw their own congressional maps. But aside from Mr Newsome, what other names are we hearing in this early stage? What kind of a bench to Democrats have? Well, there's that great bit of uncertainty here about which Democrats will actually run in 2028. Obviously, a lot of folks are being very subtle about their plans, but it's notable. Today we saw Minnesota Democrat Governor Tim Walls, obviously the vice presidential nominee in the last presidential election. He came and spoke to the DNC officials on hand here in Minnesota. He's seen as somebody who could run. It's not clear how well he would do, given obviously being part of a losing ticket in the 2024 general election. But it does seem like there is more of a tilt towards governors. Like you said, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Maryland Governor West Morris seen as a potential candidate, as well as Kentucky Governor Andy Bashir and potentially Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. So after years of it seeming like senators and members of Congress had more of the inside track on becoming presidential nominees, it does seem like in the Democratic Party, there are more governors who are seen as being part of the future. Hindsight is 2020. But a lot of people say that Democrats in the last election cycle really put all of their eggs in the Project 2025 basket and did not adequately speak to kitchen table issues. What people pay at the grocery store, what people pay at the gas pump. Do you see a pivot by Democrats to readjust their messaging going forward? Yeah, it's notable. You asked that because earlier today, DMC Chair Ken Martin gave a speech. He emphasized that he sees the Democrats as the party of the working class. That's obviously something that voters they don't feel that way as much anymore when you talk to them. But there is this idea and Chair Martin said this in his speech. He wants to see Democrats not focus so much on winning the argument. He wants to see them focus more on winning elections. That's a pretty noticeable thing here in a Democratic Party that obviously seems to favor being very online, winning that social media argument. And obviously, Chair Martin is saying they have to find a way to win elections. And a key to that is obviously messaging through the economy. Hunter Wood. I'll thank you. We'll let you get back in the building. Continue taking notes. We appreciate you stepping out and talking to us today.

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