Skip To Content

    Debbie Wasserman Schultz Elected To Second Term Atop DNC

    The congresswoman from Florida will serve as chair for at least two more years.

    WASHINGTON — Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz was elected to a second term atop the Democratic National Committee on Tuesday — but there wasn't much competition.

    Indeed, after Democrats celebrated the Florida congresswoman with a highlight reel set to U2's "Beautiful Day," a chorus of voices shouted out support for Wasserman Schultz to reprise her leadership role, one in which she appears to have retained the confidence of the president despite some clashes with his campaign staff last year.

    "All opposed?" Donna Brazile, one of the vice chairs on the committee, said, holding a hand to her ear to take in the silence in the hotel ballroom. "Good."

    Wasserman Schultz's reelection was the main event at the committee's annual meeting, which was held at a hotel in northwest Washington.

    "She is a Democrat from head to toe," gushed Andrew Tobias, the DNC treasurer, before the vote. The "toe part," he said, was Wasserman Schultz's pair of powder-blue New Balance sneakers emblazoned with the words "Vote Democrat."

    Brazile even joked that Wasserman Schultz had diverted Hurricane Isaac from Florida last year.

    "(Wasserman Schultz) said, 'Not now, not here,' and she stopped that hurricane," Brazile said.

    But the event also laid the groundwork for the Democrats' national trajectory in the next few years.

    In her victory speech, Wasserman Schultz indicated that path would adhere closely to the one outlined by President Barack Obama during his inaugural address Monday.

    "The president has laid out a vision," she said. "We must give him the tools to succeed."