Frontrunners to lead DNC emerge as defeated Democrats aim to bounce back

Ken Martin and Ben Wikler from the midwest are favorites as party aims to recapture Congress and White House

As Republicans prepare to seize the reins of power in Washington, a low-profile race to head the Democrats' national governing body is being flagged up as the first milestone on the party's agonising road to electoral recovery.

Two middle-aged men from the northern midwest have been tipped as frontrunners to succeed the outgoing Jaime Harrison as chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), a post from which the groundwork for the recapture of Congress and the White House is expected to be undertaken.