In November, many working-class people dramatically registered their disgust with the Democratic Party, either by voting for Donald Trump or sitting the election out. Last week, as a result, Trump began his second term as president. On February 1, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) will choose a new leader tasked with, among much else, leading the opposition to the new administration and, as they say in professional sports, “rebuilding” to fight another day. Faiz Shakir, who led Bernie Sanders’s 2020 campaign and now leads the media project More Perfect Union focused on working-class issues, is throwing his hat in the ring.

The Democratic National Committee is a comically opaque organization; in fact, until journalist Micah Sifry uncovered and revealed it in the American Prospect two weeks ago, its 448-person membership was a secret. Those 448 people, most of whom hold leadership positions in the party at various levels across the country, will choose a new leader for the Democratic Party out of a field that, in addition to Shakir, includes Ken Martin, chair of the Minnesota State Democratic Party; Ben Wikler, chair of the Wisconsin State Democratic Party; Marianne Williamson, author and former Democratic presidential candidate; and several others. Jacobin spoke with Shakir on January 23 about his campaign.