OXON HILL, Md. — The Democratic National Committee on Saturday elected Ken Martin as its chair, tapping a low-profile political insider from Minnesota to guide the party forward after its crushing defeats last fall.

Martin, 51, triumphed in a 75-day contest that turned less on why Democrats lost to President Donald Trump for a second time than on internal relationships and mechanics in the 448-member Democratic National Committee.

The committee raises tens of millions of dollars every year and can help set the tone of the party. It provides infrastructure and financial support for down-ballot candidates in off years before building an operation for a presidential nominee.

Martin captured the position on the strength of his yearslong relationships with party members, whose affection he won by promising to focus more on their concerns than past leaders have.

In his victory speech, Martin touched on a theme that Democrats hit throughout the weekend — that Trump was aligned with his billionaire supporters rather than with the American people.

“Are we on the side of the robber baron, the ultrawealthy billionaire, the oil and gas polluter, the union buster?” Martin asked. “Or are we on the side of the American working family, the small-business owner, the farmer, the immigrant and the students?”

He described the early days of the Trump administration as “what happens when amateur hour meets demolition derby.”

Martin defeated seven other candidates, including his top rival, Ben Wikler, the energetic chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. Wikler’s base of support came from the party’s biggest donors and institutional players in Washington, including Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, both of New York, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, the former House speaker.

Martin won comfortably, with 246.5 votes to Wikler’s 134.5.

Late Friday, Wikler disclosed that his financial backers had included billionaire Reid Hoffman and George Soros’ political action committee, both of which gave him $250,000.

Martin inherits a diminished party whose brand has suffered from its losses in 2024. A recent poll from Quinnipiac University showed that just 31% of voters viewed the Democratic Party favorably, a record low, while 43% saw the Republican Party favorably, more than ever before. And in the past four years, during President Joe Biden’s term and the tenure of the previous DNC chair, Jaime Harrison, Democrats have lost control of the White House, the Senate and the House.

After his victory, Martin pledged to conduct and make public a review of why Democrats lost the presidential election, although in an interview, he said the party’s examination would not address the question of whether Biden should have sought reelection.

“That’s not going to be part of the review,” Martin said when asked about Biden’s role in the party’s defeat. “For me, I’m looking at things that will help inform the future, because I can’t change the past.”

Martin said that the review — which he said would not be called an “autopsy” because the party was “not dead” — would be led by trusted people outside the party and would encompass the efforts of aligned super PACs and nonprofits.

“We want all of those at a table so we can actually learn the right lessons from this election,” he said, adding that he hoped to avoid a “circular firing squad.”

Although Martin portrayed himself as a disrupter who would upend the DNC’s long-standing relationships with Washington consultants, he was, in fact, the race’s party insider. He founded, and for years has led, the organization of Democratic state chairs, an alternate power center within the party. The group, which has often pushed for more money for state parties, emerged as an annoyance — or worse — to top DNC officials in Washington who were more focused on winning national elections than on local politics.

Still, Martin’s connections prevailed.

“Ken knows that we need to reach out to Americans in every state and every county, no matter how red or how blue, and he will do exactly that as our new chair of the DNC,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said in a statement. “I’m excited to work with him to strengthen our party and win elections.”

The vote came after a day of in-person jockeying at the same convention center in Oxon Hill, Maryland, that has traditionally hosted the Conservative Political Action Conference. Wikler and Martin had sponsored hospitality suites.