While more than a half a million protesters gathered Saturday to rail against President Donald Trump at Women’s March, top Democrats seeking the DNC chairmanship opted instead to attend a donor retreat in Florida.
Of the seven candidates — Idaho Democratic Party Executive Director Sally Boynton Brown, New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Raymond Buckley, South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison, former Fox News analyst Jehmu Greene, South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Jaime Harrison and former U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez — just Buttigieg attended a local rally, The Washington Free Beacon first reported.
The retreat, held at the high-end Turnberry Isle Resort near Miami, was hosted by political operative and Clinton confidant David Brock.
Brown said while she didn’t attend the march she was “there in spirit,” but “It is always difficult on the campaign trail to have competing priorities.”
“I was attending a candidate forum held by Democracy Matters in Florida, introducing myself to DNC members to earn their vote,” she told The Daily Caller News Foundation in an email. “In winning this race, we can create a trustworthy, transparent DNC that empowers the people in our Party to innovate and create resilient infrastructure to win elections.”
A number of the candidates, including Harrison, Buckley and Greene took to social media to express their regrets for not being able to attend.
“While I hate to be missing the @womensmarch in DC, I’ll see you in Florida!” Greene wrote on Twitter.
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