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The chair and vice chair of the Democratic National Committee will headline a political fundraiser in Jackson next month, a sign, some local leaders said, that national Democrats are investing in Mississippi.
DNC Chairman Ken Martin and Vice Chairman Malcolm Kenyatta will serve as guest speakers at the 2026 Hamer-Winter Dinner, scheduled for Friday, May 22, at the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson, the state party announced. State party leaders said the appearance of the national Democratic leaders underscores a message that no state is written off, even bright-red Mississippi, as Democrats aim to find new pockets of support ahead of the federal midterm elections this fall.
“Having DNC Chair Ken Martin and Vice Chair Malcolm Kenyatta join us at the Hamer-Winter Dinner is a powerful statement, a statement that the national Democratic Party stands with Mississippi, and that the work we are doing here matters,” said Rep. Cheikh Taylor, chairman of the Mississippi Democratic Party. “We are building something real, and national leadership sees it.”
The Hamer-Winter Dinner is an annual gathering honoring the legacy of former Democratic governor William Winter and Civil Rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer. The event brings together Democratic activists, elected officials, donors and community leaders from across the state, party leaders said.
DNC Vice Chairman Malcolm Kenyatta
“Our guests will hear directly from the top of our national party about where we’re headed and why Mississippi is central to that future,” said Mikel Bolden, executive director, Mississippi Democratic Party. “This is going to be a night our members and supporters will remember, and one that fuels our growing momentum as we move toward the midterm elections.”
The event will be hosted by social media personality Brett “Papa Mississippi” Kenyon and Comedian Rita Brent, who in January interviewed Kamala Harris at the Jackson stop of the former vice president’s book tour.
Martin, who led Minnesota’s Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party before winning the DNC Chairmanship following President Donald Trump’s re-election in 2024, has promised to strengthen Democratic infrastructure across the country as the party contends with internal struggles over fundraising and messaging. Kenyatta is a former Pennsylvania state lawmaker.
Democrats hold only one of six seats in the state’s congressional delegation. But the party’s nominee for the U.S. Senate, Scott Colom, a district attorney in north Mississippi, has attracted support from the national party. Colom is challenging incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, who earlier this month held a fundraiser headlined by U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana.
