Five people are on a growing list of candidates running to be the next chair of the Democratic National Committee, but one of them is getting a lot of attention: former Baltimore Mayor and Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley.

At a time when the party is still reeling from losing the White House and both chambers of Congress, the next DNC chair will be tasked with leading Democrats out of some deep introspection and into action.

As O’Malley said Sunday, it’s not just a messaging problem that caused Democrats to lose.

“It’s deeper than that,” he said Sunday morning on CNN’s “Inside Politics.” A “twice-impeached convicted felon is the person who we lost the hardest-working Americans to, and many of them that voted for him also agreed that he’s a pretty bad person. So this is not some moment for a caretaker DNC chair. Instead, we need a change-maker.”

But how will O’Malley, who recently resigned as the head of the Social Security Administration to run for DNC chair, be the change-maker he says the party needs?

He outlined a few steps on CNN and MSNBC:

A messaging shift to focus on winning back the working class and younger voters.

Tactical changes in how Democrats deliver their messages.

Boosting Democratic voter registration.

Defending voting rights.

Have a 57-state-and-territory strategy.

Recruit candidates to run from the courthouse to city hall to the U.S. House.

Reconnect with people’s concerns.

In an interview on MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki,” he compared the next DNC chair to a “wartime leader” and an “operational turnaround leader.” O’Malley also complained about the Democratic Party’s missteps.

“One of the biggest wastes in our party is not the hundreds of millions we spent on ads that didn’t work, but it’s failing to tap into the great new leaders we have out there — many of them already serving as mayors, as governors, state treasurers, lieutenant governors,” O’Malley said. “We almost treat them like they’re not allowed to be at the big-person table at Thanksgiving.”

He also emphasized the need for a better communications strategy, claiming the party should create a center for digital communications excellence within the DNC.

“Our candidates should not have to rely on their brother-in-law’s best guess as to where to place Facebook ads,” O’Malley said. “We should be able to provide the best marketing analytics, the best technology, the best techniques so that our candidates can actually communicate that economic message.”

On both CNN and MSNBC, O’Malley repeatedly highlighted the importance of Democrats reclaiming the economic message.

“We have to return to the strength that is our party’s strength since the 1930s, which is that we are about the economic security of every man, woman and child in the nation,” he said on MSNBC. “And when we do those things, we can accomplish many other progressive goals, but first, we have to reconnect with people’s concerns.”

After painful November losses, O’Malley sees a party on the verge of some big wins if Democrats are willing to be aggressive.

“The Democratic National Committee needs to figure out whether we want to mess around or whether we want to be ruthless about winning the next elections. I vote for winning elections,” he said.

He listed multiple opportunities for wins: 36 gubernatorial races in two years, special elections, a chance to win back the House in 2026 and have House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries as the next speaker.

Although O’Malley is among five candidates running for DNC chair, he seems to be the one getting the most airtime, appearing for multiple television interviews in the last couple weeks.

The election will be held Feb. 1 to replace outgoing DNC Chair Jaime Harrison. In addition to O’Malley, the other candidates include nonprofit-executive-turned-Senate-hopeful Robert Houton, author and former presidential candidate Marianne Williamson, Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party chair Ken Martin, and Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Ben Wikler.

Houton, a Bethesda resident, won less than 1% of the Maryland Senate primary vote while making the fentanyl crisis central to his campaign.

In a letter to DNC members, Houton said he would be “a fighter with passion and integrity to speak boldly and lead.” He told Democrats he grew up in Massachusetts and was inspired by the late U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy from his home state.

“In my formative years, my parents instilled in me the meaningful impact public service holds for my life of service to others,” Houton said. “I have never deviated from this calling.”

He cited his deep faith and Catholicism in helping him to bring optimism and energy to the DNC.

Williamson, the only woman running for DNC chair and the most recent candidate to jump into the race, said the Democratic Party has lost its connection with millions of Americans. She described the party as “a tarnished brand” in an interview with ABC News.

In an exclusive interview with Newsweek, she said, “Many people are afraid of change. I think what Democrats should be most afraid of right now is not changing.”

Have a news tip? Contact politics editor Candy Woodall at cwoodall@baltsun.com.