Democratic National Committee

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the Democratic Party between National Conventions", and particularly coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well as works to establish a "party brand" and to formulate the party platform. While it provides support for party candidates, it does not have direct authority over elected officials.

The DNC was established on May 26, 1848, at that year's Democratic National Convention. The DNC's main counterpart is the Republican National Committee.

The DNC is responsible for articulating and promoting the Democratic platform and coordinating party organizational activity. In particular, it organizes and calls for the Democratic National Convention held every four years to nominate candidates for President and Vice President of the United States, and is subsequently responsible for the Presidential campaign. The DNC is more focused on campaign and organizational strategy than public policy. According to Boris Heersink, "political scientists have traditionally described the parties' national committees as inconsequential but impartial service providers."

In presidential elections, it supervises the national convention and, both independently and in coordination with the presidential candidate, raises funds, commissions polls, and coordinates campaign strategy. Following the selection of a party nominee, the public funding laws permit the national party to coordinate certain expenditures with the nominee, but additional funds are spent on general, party-building activities. There are state committees in every state, as well as local committees in most cities, wards, and towns (and, in most states, counties).

When the president is a Democrat, the party generally works closely with the president and the White House largely controls the committee.

The DNC is headed by a chairperson, five vice chairpersons, a treasurer, a secretary, and a national finance chair, who are all elected by vote of members of the Democratic National Committee itself.

According to its charter, the committee is further composed of:

All DNC members are superdelegates to the Democratic National Convention, and their role can affect the outcome over a close primary race only if no candidate receives a majority of pledged delegates. These delegates, officially described as "unpledged party leader and elected official delegates," fall into three categories based on other positions they hold: