Formation 1986 Membership 100,000+ | Headquarters Washington, D.C. Executive Director Jennifer Petty | |
Type Political action committee Key people Tom Harkin, Jim Hightower, Lane Evans, founders | ||
21st Century Democrats is an American political organization founded by Senator Tom Harkin, commentator Jim Hightower and Congressman Lane Evans to help elect "progressive" or "populist" candidates.
Contents
Background
21st Century Democrats started out relatively small, surpassing $1M in contributions for the first time in the 1996 election cycle. By the 2004 election cycle, according to the Political Money Line, it was the 13th largest Political Action Committee (PAC) in the United States raising nearly $7 Million. Among progressive ideological PACs, it ranked fourth behind America Coming Together, EMILY's List, and MoveOn.org. However, since 2004 its contributions have gradually fallen, to under $2.2M in 2010 and under $1.2M in 2014.
Unlike traditional PACs, 21st Century Democrats focuses on recruiting, training, and hiring field organizers to organize grassroots campaigns on behalf of candidates for local offices, statewide office, and even targeted presidential swing states. The group has ties to Democracy for America, which grew out of Howard Dean's presidential campaign.
Partner organizations
In 2009, 21st Century Democrats joined Service Employees International Union, MoveOn.org, and Daily Kos in a new effort called Accountability Now PAC. This new Political Action Committee promised to use party primaries to challenge Democratic incumbents that PAC members do not support.
Religious discrimination lawsuit
In November 2007, 21st Century Democrats was sued in United States federal court by their former communications director, Kenneth Goldman. The lawsuit stated that three workers were fired in 2006 for refusing to attend "religious events", referring to the Landmark Forum. A formal complaint was filed in a Washington, D.C. court, stating that Landmark Education has "religious characteristics and theological implications". The lawsuit also stated that Landmark Education's influence could be felt in the 21st Century Democrats' "mission, business structure ... and communications".
The executive director for 21st Century Democrats stated he believed the lawsuit had no merits, and called it "frivolous". The suit was dismissed by the court with prejudice.
A spokesman for Landmark Education stated that the San Francisco based company "is in no way religious in nature and any claim to the contrary is simply absurd". Goldman stated that two other employees of 21st Century Democrats regularly discussed their unease with him over Landmark Education's influence over the company, and believed that former executive director Kelly Young treated the Landmark Forum seminars like a "religion". Landmark Education and the two other employees who were fired are not a party to the lawsuit between Goldman and 21st Century Democrats.
Washington Examiner accusations
A 2014 Washington Examiner article claimed "A PAC called 21st Century Democrats has raised $5.3 million since 2009, but not a penny of it has gone to candidates' campaigns or independent expenditures on their behalf, according to Federal Election Commission records. It also accuses the group as listing an advisory board of prominent democrats who deny involvement with the group, such as former DNCC chairman Donald Fowler, who it quotes as saying "I have no sense of giving them the approval to use my name, and I suspect none of the other people who they purport to be their advisory board will, either."