Democratic Party (United States)

== Structure==
=== National committee ===
The [[Democratic National Committee]] (DNC) is responsible for promoting Democratic campaign activities. While the DNC is responsible for overseeing the process of writing the Democratic Platform, the DNC is more focused on campaign and organizational strategy than [[public policy]]. In presidential elections, it supervises the [[Democratic National Convention]]. The national convention is subject to the charter of the party and the ultimate authority within the Democratic Party when it is in session, with the DNC running the party's organization at other times. As of 2021, the Party is chaired by [[Jaime Harrison]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Schneider |first1=Avie |title=DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison Wants To Build The 'Next Generation' Of Democratic Talent |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/01/22/959573611/dnc-chairman-jaime-harrison-wants-to-build-the-next-generation-of-democratic-tal |access-date=January 22, 2021 |publisher=NPR |date=January 22, 2021 |archive-date=February 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220202101/https://www.npr.org/2021/01/22/959573611/dnc-chairman-jaime-harrison-wants-to-build-the-next-generation-of-democratic-tal |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== State parties ===
{{main|List of state parties of the Democratic Party (United States)}}

Each state also has a state committee, made up of elected committee members as well as ex officio committee members (usually elected officials and representatives of major constituencies), which in turn elects a chair. County, town, city, and ward committees generally are composed of individuals elected at the local level. State and local committees often coordinate campaign activities within their jurisdiction, oversee local conventions, and in some cases primaries or caucuses, and may have a role in nominating candidates for elected office under state law. Rarely do they have much funding, but in 2005 DNC Chairman Dean began a program (called the "50 State Strategy") of using DNC national funds to assist all state parties and pay for full-time professional staffers.<ref>{{cite news|last=Gilgoff|first=Dan|title=Dean's List|date=July 16, 2006|url=https://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/060716/24dems.htm|work=[[U.S. News & World Report]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120709100930/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/060716/24dems.htm|archive-date=July 9, 2012|access-date=April 26, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Major party committees and groups===
[[File:Barack Obama Speaks to College Democrats.jpg|thumb|right|Obama speaking to College Democrats of America in 2007]]
The [[Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee]] (DCCC) assists party candidates in House races and is chaired by Representative [[Suzan DelBene]] of [[Washington (state)|Washington]]. Similarly, the [[Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee]] (DSCC), chaired by Senator [[Gary Peters]] of Michigan, raises funds for Senate races. The [[Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee]] (DLCC), chaired by [[Majority Leader of the New York State Senate]] [[Andrea Stewart-Cousins]], is a smaller organization that focuses on state legislative races. The [[Democratic Governors Association]] (DGA) is an organization supporting the candidacies of Democratic gubernatorial nominees and incumbents. Likewise, the mayors of the largest cities and urban centers convene as the [[National Conference of Democratic Mayors]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Home |url=http://www.democraticmayors.org/ |website=National Conference of Democratic Mayors |access-date=March 21, 2020 |archive-date=October 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201002181004/https://www.democraticmayors.org/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

The DNC sponsors the [[College Democrats of America]] (CDA), a student-outreach organization with the goal of training and engaging a new generation of Democratic activists. [[Democrats Abroad]] is the organization for Americans living outside the United States. They work to advance the party's goals and encourage Americans living abroad to support the Democrats. The [[Young Democrats of America]] (YDA) and the [[High School Democrats of America]] (HSDA) are young adult and youth-led organizations respectively that attempt to draw in and mobilize young people for Democratic candidates but operates outside of the DNC.