New Democrat Network
Template:Short description Template:Infobox political party The New Democrat Network (NDN) was an American think tank that promoted centrist candidates for the Democratic Party.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> NDN was a 501(c)(4) membership organization that functioned in collaboration with two subsidiary organizations, the NDN Political Fund, a non-federal political organization (527), and NDN PAC, a federal political action committee. The organization was dissolved by Rosenberg in March 2024.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The group was officially named the New Democrat Network from 1996 to 2004 and NDN from 2004 to 2024.<ref name="Walked">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Founding
NDN was led and founded by Simon Rosenberg in 1996,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> after his split with the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), for which he worked.
Before founding NDN, Rosenberg worked as a television news writer and producer and a political strategist for the Michael Dukakis and Bill Clinton presidential campaigns and the Democratic National Committee.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> NDN has offices in Washington, D.C.,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> New York City, San Francisco, and Miami.
In 2000, the NDN was characterized as "a group of pro-business Capitol Hill Democrats who borrow freely from the metaphors and values of the New Economy in their quest to modernize their party and wean it away from the labor unions and old-line liberals."<ref name="NASDAQing">Template:Cite web</ref> Simon described the group as "a venture capital fund for the Democratic Party."<ref name="Lieberman">Template:Cite news</ref>
Involvement in the 2004 presidential election
The NDN, while not supporting or embracing 2004 Democratic presidential primary candidate Howard Dean, pointed to his online network of small donors, volunteers, and bloggers as the model to emulate for the Democratic Party.<ref name="Going">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2003, the NDN was described as challenging the DLC and becoming an increasingly influential player in the party's politics.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In the 2004 United States presidential election, NDN led an effort to turn out Hispanic voters for John Kerry.<ref name="Going" /> Also in 2004, Rosenberg announced his candidacy for Chairman of the Democratic National Committee,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but eventually withdrew from the race <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> after it became clear that he would lose to eventual Chairman Howard Dean. Rosenberg then supported Dean's campaign.<ref name="Going" />
See also
References
External links
- Official website
- New Politics Institute website
- NDN's Hispanic Strategy Center website (2008)
- Opensecrets.org's summary of NDN's PAC contributions by cycle
- Report on NDN's spending by the Center for Public Integrity (2003)