Exclusive: DNC bets on the South as next political battleground

The big picture: Chair Ken Martin sat down exclusively with Axios last week while the committee was in New Orleans for its spring meeting.

• With many of the country's fastest-growing states in the South, he says he foresees a population shift by 2032, when congressional districts are reapportioned.
• He expects some congressional power and electoral votes to shift from the North to the South.
• "The next presidential race in 2032 will not run through the North and the blue wall of the North," he predicts. "It will run through the Sun Belt of the South."
• The party needs to start laying the groundwork now, he says, "so that by the time this map shifts, we're in a position to actually compete and win down here."

Flashback: "It wasn't that long ago that this was a blue state," Martin says about Louisiana. "One of the reasons we're in this place that we are is because we've stopped investing and building infrastructure."

• "The role of a party — both at the national level, the state level, local level — is to build the type of infrastructure that can help our candidates win ... because the candidates don't have enough money to do it all," Martin says.
• The party recently unveiled new organizing efforts and training programs across the country.

Zoom in: The DNC is also giving an extra $5,000 per month to the state parties in Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, South Carolina and West Virginia.

• Some people in D.C. are "frustrated" with the strategy to invest more in state parties, Martin says, because they want the money to stay there.
• "They have focused almost exclusively on federal power at the expense of state and local power," he says. "We can't be that party anymore."
• The party's top priority is to win back the U.S. House, he says.

Reality check: The DNC has teetered on the edge of insolvency during the past year. It has about $15 million cash on hand but is more than $17 million in debt as of last month.

• "We don't need to raise more money than the Republicans," Martin says. "We just need to have enough money to be in the ring, to compete and fight back. And we certainly have been doing that all year long."

• Martin faces a growing crisis of confidence within his party, more than two dozen Democrats tell Axios' Alex Thompson and Holly Otterbein.
• Donors, operatives and some DNC members are questioning his leadership, fundraising ability and handling of the party's still-secret autopsy of the 2024 presidential election loss. Go deeper.

What's next: Five potential host cities — Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver and Philadelphia — were vying in New Orleans to host the 2028 Democratic National Convention.

• Cities hosted parties and doled out coffee, beignets, Malort and snoballs.
• "They're wooing all these people, but there's only one person that makes that decision and that's me," Martin says, adding that he's focused on the midterm elections right now.
• Site selection visits happen in the next several weeks.

Inside the room: We're told Atlanta trolled the Philadelphia folks by showing up outside their party venue Friday night and playing "Welcome to Atlanta."

• We appreciate that level of petty, even if we aren't fans of the Dirty Birds.

Go deeper: Read Axios 2028 for more from the DNC's meeting.