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Concept
Democracy for America
Summary
Democracy for America (DFA) is a progressive political action committee headquartered in Burlington, Vermont. Founded by former Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean in 2004, DFA leads public awareness campaigns on a variety of public policy issues, trains activists, and provides funding directly to candidates for office. The organization has more than a million members in the United States and internationally.
Dean created the PAC Fund for a Healthy America in 2001 in Montpelier in advance of a planned campaign for president. In March 2004, following the conclusion of Dean's presidential campaign, the organization was renamed "Democracy for America."
Following his unsuccessful run for the Democratic nomination in the 2004 presidential election, Dean used the organization to build on the grassroots momentum for Democratic candidates around the country. DFA used the Internet-based, grassroots organizing that Dean had created for his presidential campaign to help like-minded Democrats get elected. In 2004 the organization endorsed and supported Democrats (known as the Dean Dozen) on the federal, state, and county levels.
In 2005, Dean turned over control of the organization to his brother, Jim Dean, when he became DNC Chair. Since then, Democracy for America has helped elect over 600 progressives into office, including President Barack Obama, while building their membership to over a million like-minded progressives across all fifty states. In 2007, DFA became the first carbon-neutral political action committee in the United States.
Arshad Hasan served as executive director from 2007 to 2013, after which Charles R. Chamberlain became executive director. Effective January 1, 2019, Chamberlain was named chair, while Yvette Simpson was named Chief Executive. In December 2022, Simpson announced she would step down from the organization.
DFA focuses on endorsing candidates at all levels of office, both local and national. DFA's endorsements are often orchestrated by members of local groups, and they provide resources, such as funds and addresses, to the endorsed campaign.
Official source
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