Rahm’s return? Emanuel looms as candidate for DNC chair

Rahmbo is flirting with a Washington redux.

Rahm Emanuel, the hard-charging Democratic operative from Chicago now serving as U.S. ambassador to Japan, is trying to sort out where he could best serve his party — fueling speculation he could be interested in taking over the reins of the Democratic National Committee.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported Friday that Mr. Emanuel texted that he was weighing his options when asked about his plans.

“First come home, second talk and listen to folks at home about best way to serve and build what we care about,” Mr. Emanuel told the newspaper.

The race to replace outgoing DNC Chair Jaime Harrison kicked off in earnest this week after Martin O’Malley, commissioner of the Social Security Administration and former Maryland governor, announced he was running.

Still, Mr. Emanuel would likely begin as a prohibited favorite if he had entered the race.

David Axelrod, a longtime adviser to former President Barack Obama, said Mr. Emanuel would be well-equipped to lead the party as it looks to pick up the pieces from a disappointing election cycle that left Republicans in charge of the three levers of government.

“I would bring him back from Japan, and I would appoint him chairman of the Democratic National Committee,” Mr. Axelrod recently said on his “Hacks on Tap” podcast.

“Dems need a strong and strategic party leader, with broad experience in comms, fundraising and winning elections,” Mr. Axelrod said later on social media. “There may be others, but he is kind of sui generis: Dude knows how to fight and win!”

Mr. Emanuel has worn various hats in the party. He started serving in former President Bill Clinton’s administration as director of political affairs and senior adviser. He has since been a member of the House, Chicago mayor, head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and chief of staff to Mr. Obama.

The 64-year-old has made plenty of political friends and foes along the way, but what is crystal clear is that he has fallen out of favor with the left wing of the Democratic Party.

Norman Solomon, a liberal who led a “Don’t Run Joe” campaign to stop President Biden from seeking reelection, panned the idea, warning that Mr. Emanuel’s tenure as mayor was bad and would haunt him, citing his decision to close public schools in predominantly Black and brown neighborhoods and suppressing a video that captured Chicago police killing 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in 2014.

“The Democratic National Committee should not choose for its chair a pugnacious bully who relishes fighting with the party’s most loyal constituencies and committed activists,” Mr. Solomon wrote in an op-ed for the left-wing website Common Dreams.