The Young Democrats of America (YDA) is the youth wing of the Democratic Party of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. YDA operates as a separate organization from the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

; following the passage of the

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (, ), commonly known as the McCain–Feingold Act or BCRA ( ), is a United States federal law that amended the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, which regulates the financing of political campaign ...

, it became an independent

527 organization A 527 organization or 527 group is a type of U.S. tax-exempt organization organized under Section 527 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (). A 527 group is created primarily to influence the selection, nomination, election, appointment or defeat ...

. 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.

Leadership

YDA 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 Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. 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

, and superdelegates to any Democratic National Convention occurring during their terms.

2023–2025 national officers

*President: Quentin Avola Wathum-Ocama of

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

*Executive Vice President: Dyna Martinez of

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

*Eastern Vice President: Gabriela Koc of

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

*Southern Vice President: Hannah Perkins of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

*Midwest Vice President: Spencer Dirrig of

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

*Western Vice President: Kathleen Durkin of Washington *Secretary: Lezlie Braxton Campbell of

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

*Treasurer: Sam Jane of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

2022–2025 Democratic National Committee members

*Democratic National Committee Representative: Steph Campanha Wheaton of

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

*Democratic National Committee Representative: Katherine Jeanes of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

''Ex officio'' national officers

* Chair of the Association of Chartered Unit Presidents: Jovan Richards of New York * Chair of the Council of Caucus Chairs: Zachary Shartiag of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Past leaders

Democratic party leaders and Democratic elected officials who are former YDA national officers include: *

Steny Hoyer Steny Hamilton Hoyer ( ; born June 14, 1939) is an American politician and retired attorney who has served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for since 1981. He also served as House Majority Leader from 2007 to 20 ...

– U.S. representative from Maryland * Warren Magnuson – Former U.S. senator from Washington * Allan Turner Howe – Former U.S. representative from Utah * Mark Stodola – Former Mayor of Little Rock * Chep Morrison – Former Mayor of New Orleans * R. Spencer Oliver – Former Secretary General Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe * Maggie Toulouse Oliver – New Mexico secretary of state * Chris Anderson – Former

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

city councilman and Tennessee Democratic Party State Executive Committee member * Lena Guerrero – Former member of the Texas House of Representatives * Isaac Robinson – Former member of the Michigan House of Representatives * Joe McDermott – King County councilor * Elaine Marshall – North Carolina secretary of state

National Convention, National Committee, and chartered units

The YDA organization is composed of "chartered units" with one from each U.S. state or territory. 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.

National Convention locations

Past and Future YDA National Conventions were held in the below venues: * 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

References

External links

Young Democrats of AmericaPast YDA Officers 1967–2015
{{Authority control * 527 organizations Democratic Party (United States) organizations Factions in the Democratic Party (United States) Youth wings of political parties in the United States Youth wings of liberal parties Youth-led organizations 1932 establishments in the United States Political organizations established in 1932