Ken Martin, a longtime Minnesota political operative, Monday officially announced he is running for DFL Party chair to replace exiting Brian Melendez.

By any measure, Martin should be instantly considered a front runner for the post.

Martin is trusted by incoming governor Mark Dayton and, most recently, served as Dayton's recount manager. He is also trusted by the big money Democratic donors, including unions and Dayton's ex-wife Alida Messinger. During the gubernatorial campaign, Martin ran the 2010 Fund and Win Minnesota, which poured money into the Alliance for a Better Minnesota to bash Republican Tom Emmer.

He also worked for presidential contender John Kerry's 2004 bid, gubernatorial candidate Mike Hatch's 2006 bid and the 2008 quest to pass the constitutional amendment to increase the sales tax for outdoor causes and the arts.

In the past, Martin has been more of a back office operator than a front of the camera spokesman.

Martin is the first and thus far only candidate for the DFL job and strengthened his bid by running with Marge Hoffa, third congressional district DFL chair, as his associate chair.

He may also have helped himself with DFLers who have complained that the party hasn't been good enough at social media by including Twitter and Facebook links for his campaign, although he has been an infrequent tweeter over the last year.

The party will hold its vote on the new chair in February.

Here's Martin's message to DFLers officially announcing his bid:

Ken Martin Announcement_12.13.10