Richard Carlbom has been elected as the new chair of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. Carlbom has served as mayor of St. Joseph and currently serves as deputy chief of staff to Gov. Tim Walz.
Carlbom was elected during Saturday’s State Central Committee Business Conference at Edina High School.
“Our DFL coalition is united and ready to fight back and win,” Carlbom said in a statement. “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.”
The position was previously held by Ken Martin, who was elected the head of the Democratic National Committee in February. Martin’s selection came as Republicans in November took control of the White House and Congress.
“A heartfelt congratulations to the new chair of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, my friend: Richard Carlbom,” Martin said in a statement. “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.”
Carlbom got his start in politics as a College Democrat in 2002. He was elected as mayor of St. Joseph in 2004 just months after graduating from St. John’s University in Collegeville. Soon after, he became a field organizer with the DFL during the 2006 election cycle. He went on to work as campaign manager for then-U.S. Rep. 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 ballot campaign that made Minnesota the first state in the nation to defeat a constitutional amendment that would have banned same-sex marriage.
Carlbom has served as Walz’s deputy chief of staff since March 2023.
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