“We are the party of working families,” Williams said in an email to Democratic activists, “and I know that we agree that leading our party should be open to all.”

The criticism of Williams’ tenure escalated after former President Donald Trump recaptured Georgia in November, part of a sweep of battleground states that left Democrats demoralized and party leaders struggling for an explanation.

The typically internal fight over the party’s direction became a painfully public battle as prominent officials traded open letters vouching for Williams, the party’s first Black woman elected to the post, or urging that she step down long before her second four-year term ends in 2027.

It grew in the hours after the election, when a dozen or so Democratic leaders told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Williams should step aside. Some panned the party’s strategy or accused Williams of wasting resources.

Others praised her long record in the volunteer position but said the job demands a full-time staffer who wasn’t limited from raising federal funds for the party, as Williams is because she serves in the U.S. House.

Williams initially dismissed the calls, pointing to the party’s statewide wins in 2020, 2021 and 2022 even as she acknowledged Democrats needed a “course correction” after Trump improved his level of support in more than 130 of Georgia’s 159 counties.

But the pushback grew as word trickled out that U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, who’s up for reelection in 2026, called Williams and pressed her to stand down. Williams relayed to friends that Ossoff told her he lacked confidence in her leadership.

Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

“I hope this doesn’t have to become public, but this is something I’m absolutely planning to pursue,” Williams claimed Ossoff told her in a phone conversation, according to a text message she sent to her supporters that was obtained by the AJC. Ossoff has declined comment about their exchange, but his allies didn’t dispute her broader characterization of the conversation.

At an event Friday in Gwinnett County, Ossoff told reporters there were “ongoing conversations” about party leadership, but he wouldn’t say whether he asked Williams to step down.

“After any election it’s always appropriate to regroup, assess the outcome, make sure that we’re reconnecting with our constituents and in the strongest position possible to move forward,” he said. “I’m confident that we are doing that.”

Compounding Williams’ challenges, several leading Democrats declined to publicly defend her. U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock told the AJC he wanted to “get beyond the current distraction and focus on the work.”

And U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, a close Ossoff friend, said there was a “groundswell of support” behind calls for Williams to quit but said the decision was ultimately hers to make.

In another sign of Williams’ eroding support, state Rep. Billy Mitchell of Stone Mountain demanded his name be removed from a letter vouching for Williams’ leadership.

“I have nothing against Nikema. I wish this debate, this debacle, could have been done in private,” he said. “But I’m not getting involved in this fight.”

A tough fight ahead

Meanwhile, Williams’ supporters worked to find space for her to step down on her own terms.

Several sent statements praising her “steady leadership” of the state party, including Savannah Mayor Van Johnson and former Cobb County Democratic Chair Erick Allen.

And Williams sent messages to friends saying she supported structural changes to the party that include a full-time, paid party chair. But she added that Democrats shouldn’t be “naive to think that my being in Congress” led to Harris’ loss in Georgia, a theme she echoed in her Friday email to supporters.

“I will proudly declare that I rebuilt the Democratic Party of Georgia to be considered a national battleground state when most folks walked away,” she wrote, “with more Democratic gains than any other chair before me trying to rebuild our Party.”

Further complicating the delicate situation is that Williams, 46, will remain a leading party figure regardless of how long she remains party chair.

She holds one of the safest Democratic seats in the U.S. House, an Atlanta-based district that she won last week with 87% of the vote. The fraught internal tensions between Williams and the Democrats who pushed for her ouster may not be quickly smoothed over.

Credit: Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com

Credit: Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com

The infighting, which went beyond the typical finger-pointing after a tough defeat, was seen by insiders as a sign of deep concerns about the party’s trajectory ahead of midterms. Along with Ossoff’s seat, the 2026 ballot will feature an open governor’s race and contests for every other constitutional statewide office.

Ossoff is preparing for a tough reelection battle, when Republicans will likely make him one of their top targets for a pickup. Gov. Brian Kemp, who cannot seek a third term in Georgia’s top job, is among the prominent Republicans who could challenge the Democrat.

A fast rise

Even Williams’ fiercest critics don’t question her commitment to Democratic politics and record in the party’s grassroots trenches. Nor do they see this as her political obituary, since Williams could serve in public office for many years to come.

She was elected a party vice-chair in 2011 and became acting chair in 2013 after Mike Berlon was forced to resign amid mounting legal problems that led to a federal prison sentence.

Williams won a deep-blue Atlanta-based state Senate district in a 2017 special election after Vincent Fort resigned to run for mayor, and she drew international headlines after she was arrested in 2018 during a “count every vote” protest under the Gold Dome.

Though the criminal charges were later dismissed, Williams spent hours in a local jail and later said officers threatened to conduct a strip search. She told supporters the indignity of her arrest fueled her desire for a greater role in the party, calling it an affront to First Amendment rights and a reminder of the dangers of unfettered police authority.

In January 2019, she was elected the first Black woman to lead the state party after pledging to target voters often ignored by politicians, keep up an embrace of liberal policies and continue deploying sharp-edged tactics to battle the GOP.

After U.S. Rep. John Lewis died in 2020, Williams won the overwhelming support of party insiders to serve as his replacement on the ballot in a hurried procedural vote that was forced by a pressing legal deadline.

Credit: Steve Schaefer

Credit: Steve Schaefer

At the same time, she committed to continuing her dual role as party chair and congressional lawmaker even though she was limited by federal rules over how much cash she could raise for the party. Pressed on why she was taking on the double duty, rather than step aside for someone who commit full-time to the chair job, Williams routinely responded enthusiastically that she still had unfinished business.

During the 2020 campaign, Williams helped position Georgia as an emerging battleground as Joe Biden narrowly flipped the state and Ossoff and Warnock won U.S. Senate seats. In 2022, she steered the party through a rougher cycle as Warnock won reelection but Republicans coasted in every other statewide race.

This campaign, Democrats continued to backtrack. Trump carried Georgia by roughly 120,000 votes, and Republicans limited their losses in a range of competitive legislative districts that Democrats hoped to flip.

A day after the election, Williams acknowledged the tough defeats during an interview on the AJC’s “Politically Georgia” podcast but praised Georgia Democrats for consolidating behind Harris’ campaign. She said she was already planning for the next round of statewide elections.

“The work for 2026 starts today.”