This week's Democratic National Convention will be Florida congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Shultz's last as DNC chairwoman. On Sunday she announced she will resign her position after the convention.
It is uncertain whether Wasserman Schultz's resignation will be enough to stifle the jeering expected from still-bitter Bernie Sanders' supporters Monday when she gavels open the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
Political observers say she is taking a chance to continue even in that diminished role. The Weston congresswoman has an increasingly competitive primary back home against progressive college professor Tim Canova. Negative reaction to her on national television, shown in the usual string of network replays, could hurt her reelection chances, they say.
Her resignation comes following a massive email leak from WikiLeaks which conveyed a sense of deep turmoil within the party, with most party staffers -- especially Wasserman Schultz -- heavily favoring Hillary Clinton over primary opponent Bernie Sanders.
Emails even showed staffers discussing ways to use Sanders' religious beliefs to tilt the scale in Clinton's favor with voters. DWS said electing Clinton was her primary focus in her resignation statement.
"Going forward, the best way for me to accomplish those goals is to step down as party chair at the end of this convention," Wasserman Schultz said in the statement.
For months, DWS said she would remain at the helm of the Democratic ship until the November election, but it seems the WikiLeaks email scandal was the final straw. In response, party officials said DWS would play a minimal role at best during the convention.
"As party chair, this week I will open and close the Convention and I will address our delegates about the stakes involved in this election not only for Democrats, but for all Americans," she explained.
DNC Vice Chair Donna Brazile will serve as interim chair through the election. Brazile apologized Sunday morning to Sanders, his supporters and the party faithful.
Sanders said DWS made the right move by resigning, noting the evident favoritism within top party officials against his campaign.
Sanders said Sunday, "Debbie Wasserman Schultz has made the right decision for the future of the Democratic Party. While she deserves thanks for her years of service, the party now needs new leadership that will open the doors of the party and welcome working people and young people. The party leadership must also always remain impartial in the presidential nominating process, something which not occur in the 2016 race.
"It goes without saying the function of the DNC is to represent all of the candidates to be fair and even-minded," he continued. "There’s no question in my mind, and I think no question in any objective observer’s mind, that the DNC was supporting Hillary Clinton and was at opposition to our campaign."
The Republican Party of Florida said DWS's resignation was just another sign of cronyism of the opposing party.
"Both Hillary Clinton and Debbie Wasserman Shultz have proven they are willing to bend the rules for their own political convenience," the party said in a statement.
"It should also terrify voters that a 74 year old socialist, Bernie Sanders, has moved the party so much to the left that he now has so much influence over the DNC that he can amend their platform and force out a chairperson."
Paul Manafort, Donald Trump's campaign chairman, used Wasserman Schultz's resignation to take another shot at Hillary Clinton for use of her personal email servers.
"Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned over her failure to secure the DNC's email servers and the rigged system she set up with the Clinton campaign." Manafort said in a press statement. "Now Hillary Clinton should follow Wasserman Schultz's lead and drop out over her failure to safeguard top secret, classified information both on her unauthorized home server and while traveling abroad. Wasserman Schultz's emails only put the Democratic Party at risk, but Hillary Clinton's emails put all of America at risk."
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen. SSN's Nancy Smith contibuted to this story.
