Who will lead the DNC?

Who should lead the Democratic National Committee (DNC) after their 2016 whuppin'? The election for chair will take place at the DNC's winter meeting in Atlanta, Feb. 23-26. A 're-engineered” Democratic Party is the single most important American political story right now. Its failure over the past eight years has led to a decimation of Democratic elected officials all up and down the political food chain.

Former Vermont Governor and former DNC Chair Howard Dean was a hot item early on but has dropped out of the race. He says he didn't want it to become a contest between Hillary Clinton (he supported her in 2016) and Bernie Sanders. I would venture that it will be just such a fight even without him in the race.

The following names are still circulating: New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Raymond Buckley; South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Jaime Harrison; National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL Pro-Choice America) President Ilyse Hogue; EMILY'S List President Stephanie Schriock; Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez; and Minnesota Congressman Rep. Keith Ellison. Let's take a look at each.

Buckley is unknown outside of New Hampshire and seems like a stretch.

Harrison is an African American with a touching personal story. He was born to a single teenage mother and raised by his mother and his grandparents. He has great credentials with a degree from Yale. But the Democrats have hardly been successful in South Carolina and the party already is a powerhouse with black voters. He also has worked as a lobbyist for the Podesta Group. Given John Podesta's chairmanship of the Clinton campaign I believe this disqualifies him.

As president of NARAL, Hogue distracts from the core of the problems we have identified for Democrats in 2017. It would be a huge mistake to go for such a single-issue leader for the party.

Schriock is a powerhouse organizer with a fascinating set of career credentials. She has worked to elect pro-choice women including Hillary Clinton to public office. She would no doubt be a repeat of Hillary Clinton's emphasis on liberal women which detracted from the need for the party to connect with small town, Midwest, politically moderate men and women.

Perez is a smart and strong administrator. I have personally seen him in action at a labor dispute in Florida, and I would not want to get crosswise with him. He would be an asset especially with the growing Latino voting population but that might again focus the party on identity politics when what it needs is a broad economic message.

Ellison is a successful African American and Muslim politician. He co-chaired the Congressional Progressive Caucus for the 113th Congress and serves on several important committees. His statements about the Middle East and Israel have produced concern among Jewish groups. He is backed by Bernie Sanders, outgoing Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, incoming Minority Leader, Chuck Schumer and others. He is clearly the front-runner. He might excite the black voter base again as Obama did and Hillary Clinton did not. But many Democrats also wonder if his brand and image are what the party need at this time given the 2016 election turnout weaknesses. More important, Democrats should never again choose an active member of Congress like Debbie Wasserman Schultz, as chair of the DNC. It's a full-time job.

Many observers suggest that Vice President Joe Biden would be the ideal Chair for the DNC. He has a blue-collar background and personality. His politics is not identified with either the ideological segments of the party (the Clintonites and the Sandersnistas) nor with ethnic identity politics or the emphasis on women voters. His appeal would reach across every fractured segment of the party.

His personal life story is touching. In 1972 his wife and college sweetheart Neilia and their 13-month-old daughter Naomi were killed in a car accident on their way to buy a Christmas tree. In May 2015, his veteran son Beau died of brain cancer at the age of 46. His is a story of amazing courage, recovery, and strength. His sense of humor and lack of political correctness would stand in sharp contrast to a party that has been seen by many as too focused on identity politics over stressing a larger inclusive message of growth, opportunity, and jobs. In 2016 this alienated working class, rural, white, and small town voters.

Biden has joked about running for president in 2020. It might seem a more urgent and realistic mission for him to try and save the Democratic Party by serving as its unifying chair.

' Steffen Schmidt is co-author of the book American Government and Politics Today, which is in its 20th edition.