DFL elects new chair

(ABC 6 News) – The Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party elected Richard Carlbom as its new chair on Saturday, according to a press release from the party.

Carlbom previously served as mayor of St. Joseph and currently serves as Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Tim Walz.

Carlbom has devoted his career to improving Minnesotans’ lives through community organizing – a career that began when he became a Minnesota DFL field organizer almost 20 years ago.

“Our DFL coalition is united and ready to fight back and win,” said DFL Chair Richard Carlbom. “Minnesotans are fed up with Donald Trump and Elon Musk, and we are going to help them get involved right now, not two years from now. This is our chance to grow our party and help Minnesotans join the fight for a better future. Democrats across the country have looked to the Minnesota DFL as a model for how to win and improve people’s lives, and we are going to build on those successes together.”

DNC Chair Ken Martin, who served as DFL Chair for 14 years until Saturday’s election, released the following statement congratulating Carlbom.

“A heartfelt congratulations to the new chair of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, my friend: Richard Carlbom. I’ve known Richard since he was first elected as Mayor of Saint Joseph. He’s fought for Minnesota families his whole career and — with the Trump Administration coming after communities everywhere — he understands exactly what’s at stake right now. Minnesota has one of the strongest state parties in the country and I am confident it will remain in good hands under Richard’s leadership,” said Martin.

Carlbom will be taking immediate steps to activate fired up DFLers, including:

• Building out an off-year organizing team to assist local DFLers eager to organize their communities right now instead of waiting till 2026.
• Adopting a long-term relational organizing approach to expand the DFL coalition and build trust with voters
• Launch an expanded DFL Rapid Response War Room that will engage DFL leaders, candidates, and volunteers in spreading the DFL message and holding Minnesota Republican legislators accountable.

Carlbom got his start in politics as a College Democrat in 2002. He was elected as Mayor of Saint Joseph in 2004 just months after graduating from St. John’s University. Soon after, he became a field organizer with the Minnesota DFL during the 2006 election cycle. He went on to work as campaign manager for then-Congressman Tim Walz in 2010, when Walz overcame a national Republican wave and won reelection.

In 2012, Carlbom was the campaign manager for Minnesotans United for All Families — the Vote No ballot campaign that made Minnesota the first state in the nation to defeat a harmful constitutional amendment that would have banned same-sex marriage.

Carlbom has served as Walz’s Deputy Chief of Staff since March 2023. As someone who counted on free lunch at school when he was a kid, one of Carlbom’s proudest moments was standing alongside Governor Walz when the universal school meals legislation was signed into law.