At the SPD national convention in 2014, party chairman Sigmar Gabriel nominated Stegner as one of his six deputies, alongside Hannelore Kraft, Olaf Scholz, Manuela Schwesig, Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel and Aydan Özoğuz. In the 2019 SPD leadership election, he announced his intention to run for the position as co-chair in the party's new dual leadership, together with the party's two-time presidential candidate Gesine Schwan.Nahles-Nachfolge: Schwan und Stegner bewerben sich für SPD-Vorsitz Der Spiegel, 14 August 2019. Saskia Esken and Norbert Walter-Borjans won the nomination and Stegner retired from his position of deputy chairman.Anna Grusnick (3 December 2019), SPD-Bundesspitze: Stegner lässt Kühnert den Vortritt Norddeutscher Rundfunk. He was ultimately succeeded by Serpil Midyatli again. In December 2019, Stegner called for a merger between the SPD and The Left.Stegner will SPD und Linke (bald) fusionieren Der Spiegel.
