Unofficial organizations for Democrats
Encyclopedia
Unofficial organizations for Democrats are those bodies, not officially affiliated with the United States Democratic Party, but primarily intended for the participation of people who are at least self-described Democrats.
These are distinguished from official Democratic organizations such as
These are distinguished from official Democratic organizations such as
- state or local affiliated party organizations that nominate and/or endorse candidates for the Democratic slates in the corresponding state or local elections, and participate in the selection of delegates to higher-level Democratic conventions,
- officially affiliated caucuses, and similar organizations, intended on one hand to aid factions, tendencies, or demographic or occupation categories to organize themselves in the furtherance of their collective influence in the party, and on the other hand to facilitate effective recruitment of those constituencies in the activities of the party (for example, the Young Democrats of AmericaYoung Democrats of AmericaThe Young Democrats of America , founded in 1932, is the official youth arm of the Democratic Party of the United States, although it severed official ties with the Democratic National Committee following passage of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 and became an independent 527 group...
), and - officially affiliated organizations focused on outward-looking tasks, such as the Democratic Legislative Campaign CommitteeDemocratic Legislative Campaign CommitteeThe Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee is a counterpart to a Hill committee works to elect members of the Democratic party to U.S. state legislatures...
, a Democratic National CommitteeDemocratic National CommitteeThe Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
affiliate that works for the election of Democratic candidates to state legislatures.
National unofficial organizations
- Democratic Leadership CouncilDemocratic Leadership CouncilThe Democratic Leadership Council was a non-profit 501 corporation that, upon its formation, argued the United States Democratic Party should shift away from the leftward turn it took in the late 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s...
- Democrats for Life of AmericaDemocrats for Life of AmericaDemocrats for Life of America is an advocacy group in the United States attempting to reshape the political left, primarily the Democratic Party, into taking a pro-life position. Usually this involves political opposition to abortion, but the DFLA also opposes capital punishment and euthanasia...
- America Coming TogetherAmerica Coming TogetherAmerica Coming Together was a liberal, political action, 527 group dedicated to get-out-the-vote activities. ACT did not specifically endorse any political party, but mostly worked on behalf of Democratic candidates. It was the largest 527 group in 2004 and was planning to be involved in future...
- Democracy for AmericaDemocracy for AmericaDemocracy for America is a progressive, people-powered political action committee, headquartered in South Burlington, Vermont. Founded by former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean in 2004, DFA leads public awareness campaigns on a variety of public policy issues, trains activists,...
- 21st Century Democrats21st Century Democrats21st Century Democrats is a political organization founded by Senator Tom Harkin, commentator Jim Hightower and Congressman Lane Evans to help elect "progressive" or "populist" candidates.- Background :...