Atlantic County Democratic Chairman Michael Suleiman will step down in 2026 after a decade in office.
He made his announcement earlier this evening after Democrats re-elected him to another term as county chairman without opposition.
“I said earlier that we need to make these next two years count, and that goes for me especially. This will be my last term as your county chairman,” Suleiman said. “I will still be heavily involved in our party, but the time is right for me to pursue my next chapter in public service.”
There has been speculation that Suleiman is interested in running for office in the future.
“Separate and aside from ACDC, I’ve started a nonprofit think tank, South Jersey Forward, which has allowed me to dive into important issues like housing and food insecurity, and I look forward to working on those initiatives while fulfilling my duties as Chair,” he said. “It will be bittersweet to pass the baton on in 2026, but I look forward to 2027 and beyond.”
In late 2019, Suleiman became the first major Democrat to tell Rep. Jeff Van Drew that he could not guarantee a 2020 Democratic primary victory the then-freshman Democratic congressman voted against a bid to impeach then-President Donald Trump. That declaration led to Van Drew’s decision to switch parties.
A chief of staff aide to State Sen. James Whelan (D-Atlantic City), Suleiman was 22-years-old when he was elected as an alternate delegate to the 2012 Democratic National Convention pledged to Barack Obama. He was the chairman of the Galloway Democratic Club at the time. He sought a Galloway council seat in 2013.
He was elected county chairman in 2016 without opposition and was the youngest in the state at the time.
“My mission over the next two years is to continue mentoring many individuals in our party and help them become leaders in their own right,” he said. “Fortunately, we have a strong team here at ACDC. I want to expand that team, pass my institutional knowledge onto them, and help them in their development as savvy political operatives.”