The Young Democrats of America (YDA) is the youth wing of the Democratic Party of the United States. YDA operates as a separate organization from the Democratic National Committee; following the passage of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, it became an independent 527 organization.[2] The group's membership consists of Democrats from ages 14 to 35, and its political activities include an emphasis on increasing the voter turnout of young people.
| Young Democrats of America | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President | Quentin Wathum-Ocama (MN) |
| Founded | March 4, 1932[1] |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Ideology | Modern liberalism |
| Mother party | Democratic Party |
| International affiliation | International Federation of Liberal Youth |
| Website | yda |
Leadership
editYDA membership elects seven national officers on a biennial basis at the organization's National Convention in odd-numbered years and two DNC representatives in even-numbered years. These officers maintain the day-to-day management of the organization. Most recently, officers were elected at the 2023 YDA National Convention in Las Vegas.
Between national conventions, the governing body of YDA is the National Committee which is composed of the president and two national committee representatives from each chartered unit, along with the chairs of the twelve constituency caucuses, eight regional directors, eight chairs of select committees, and the nine individually elected officers.
The President, Democratic National Committeeman, and Democratic National Committeewoman are members of the Democratic National Committee, and superdelegates to any Democratic National Convention occurring during their terms.
2023–2025 National Officers
edit- President: Quentin Avola Wathum-Ocama of Minnesota[3]
- Executive Vice President: Dyna Martinez of Indiana[3]
- Eastern Vice President: Gabriela Koc of Connecticut[3]
- Southern Vice President: Hannah Perkins of Georgia[3]
- Midwest Vice President: Spencer Dirrig of Ohio[3]
- Western Vice President: Kathleen Durkin of Washington[3]
- Secretary: Lezlie Braxton Campbell of Massachusetts[3]
- Treasurer: Sam Jane of Virginia[3]
2022–2025 Democratic National Committee Members
edit- Democratic National Committee Representative: Steph Campanha Wheaton of New York[3]
- Democratic National Committee Representative: Dunixi Guereca of Nebraska[3]
Ex officio National Officers
edit- Chair of the Association of Chartered Unit Presidents: Jovan Richards of New York[4]
- Chair of the Council of Caucus Chairs: Zachary Shartiag of Illinois
Past leaders
editDemocratic party leaders and Democratic elected officials who are former YDA National Officers include:[5]
- U.S. Representative Steny Hoyer
- Former U.S. Senator Warren Magnuson
- Former U.S. Representative Allan Turner Howe
- Former Mayor of Little Rock Mark Stodola
- Former Mayor of New Orleans Chep Morrison
- Former Secretary General Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe R. Spencer Oliver
- Secretary of State of New Mexico Maggie Toulouse Oliver
- Former Chattanooga City Councilman and Tennessee Democratic Party State Executive Committee Member Chris Anderson
- Former Member of the Texas House of Representatives Lena Guerrero
- Former Member of the Michigan House of Representatives Isaac Robinson
- King County Councilmemeber Joe McDermott
- North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall
National Convention, National Committee, and chartered units
editThe YDA organization is composed of "chartered units" with one from each U.S. state or territory.[6] YDA holds a National Convention every two years during the summer of odd-numbered years with complex rules for how many votes each chartered unit may cast. The YDA National Committee meets at least two times per year and consists of the President of each chartered unit, two representatives of differing gender identities from each chartered unit, and a number of other officers and committee and caucus chairs.[6]
National Convention locations
editPast and Future YDA National Conventions were held in the below venues:[7]
- 2025: Philadelphia, PA
- 2023: Las Vegas, NV
- 2021: Cincinnati, OH
- 2019: Indianapolis, IN
- 2017: Dallas, TX
- 2015: Los Angeles, CA
- 2013: San Antonio, TX
- 2011: Louisville, KY
- 2009: Chicago, IL
- 2007: Dallas, TX
- 2005: San Francisco, CA
- 2003: Buffalo, NY
- 2001: New York City, NY
- 1999: Little Rock, AR
- 1997: Miami, FL
- 1995: New Orleans, LA
- 1993: Merrillville, IN
- 1991: St Louis, MO
- 1989: Columbus, OH
- 1987: Phoenix, AZ
- 1985: Miami, FL
- 1983: Charleston, WV
- 1981: Richmond, VA
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Young Democrats of America – Marin County Young Democrats". WordPress. January 16, 2013. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
- ^ Connery, Michael. Youth to Power: How Today's Young Voters Are Building Tomorrow's Democratic Majority, ig Publishing, 2008 ISBN 978-0-9788431-3-7
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "National Officers". October 16, 2019.
- ^ "National Officers". Young Democrats of America. December 4, 2021. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
- ^ "YDA past officers (1932-2021)". June 30, 2018.
- ^ a b "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 1, 2017. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Past Officers « YDA – Young Democrats of America". www.yda.org:80. Archived from the original on January 16, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2022.