Democratic National Committee - Wikipedia Democratic National Committee Democratic National Committee Founded 1848 ; 170 years ago ( 1848 ) Headquarters 430 South Capitol St SE, Washington, D.C. 20003, U.S. Key people Chair : Tom Perez Deputy Chair : Keith Ellison Finance Chair : Henry R. Muñoz III Officials : Bill Derrough -- Treasurer Jason Rae -- Secretary Spokesperson : Michael Tyler Website democrats.org The Democratic National Committee ( DNC ) is the formal governing body for the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office. It organizes the Democratic National Convention held every four years to nominate and confirm a candidate for president, and to formulate the party platform. While it provides support for party candidates, it does not have direct authority over elected officials. The DNC is composed of the chairs and vice-chairs of each state Democratic Party committee and more than 200 members elected by Democrats in all 50 states and the territories. Its chair is elected by the committee. It conducts fundraising to support its activities. The DNC was established at the 1848 Democratic National Convention. The DNC 's main counterpart is the Republican National Committee. Contents 1 Campaign role 2 DNC fundraising 3 Current leadership 4 List of DNC Chairs 5 List of DNC Deputy Chairs 6 Controversies 6.1 Chinagate 6.2 Illegal fund raising 6.3 DNC Hacking 6.4 Alleged coordination with Clinton primary campaign 7 History 8 See also 9 References 10 External links Campaign role The DNC is responsible for articulating and promoting the Democratic platform and coordinating party organizational activity. When the president is a Democrat, the party generally works closely with the president. 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 ). The chairperson of the DNC is elected by vote of members of the Democratic National Committee. The DNC is composed of the chairs and vice-chairs of each state Democratic Party 's central committee, two hundred members apportioned among the states based on population and generally elected either on the ballot by primary voters or by the state Democratic Party committee, a number of elected officials serving in an ex officio capacity, and a variety of representatives of major Democratic Party constituencies. Chicago delegation to the January 8, 1912 Democratic National Committee The DNC establishes rules for the caucuses and primaries which choose delegates to the Democratic National Convention, but the caucuses and primaries themselves are most often run not by the DNC but instead by each individual state. Primary elections, in particular, are invariably conducted by state governments according to their own laws. Political parties may choose to participate or not participate in a state 's primary election, but no political party executives have any jurisdiction over the dates of primary elections, or how they are conducted. Outside of the process of nominating a presidential candidate, the DNC 's role in actually selecting candidates to run on the party ticket is minimal. All DNC members are superdelegates to the Democratic National Convention whose role can influence a close primary race. These delegates, officially described as `` unpledged party leader and elected official delegates, '' fall into three categories based on other positions they hold : Elected members of the Democratic National Committee. Sitting Democratic governors and members of Congress. Distinguished party leaders, consisting of current and former presidents, vice presidents, congressional leaders, and DNC chairs, are all superdelegates for life. DNC fundraising In the 2002 election cycle, the DNC and its affiliated committees ( which include numerous local committees and committees formed to coordinate expenditures for specific districts or races ) raised a total of US $162,062,084, 42 % of which was hard money. The largest contributor, with US $7,297,937 was the Saban Capital Group, founded in 2001 by Haim Saban. Fred Eychaner, the owner of Newsweb Corporation, gave the second highest amount of money to the DNC and its affiliates, US $5,175,000. The third largest contributor was Steve Bing of Shangri - La Entertainment, who gave US $4,758,000. In the 2006 election cycle, the DNC raised a total of US $37,939,887. The three largest contributors were investment bank Goldman Sachs ( US $225,600 ). University of California ( US $121,980 ) and Pond North LLP ( US $109,296 ). The DNC introduced a small - donor fund raising campaign, the Democracy Bonds program, set up by Howard Dean in the summer of 2005. There were only 31,000 Democracy Bond donors by May 2006, off - pace from the goal of 1 million donors by 2008. The program no longer is in place. In the 2016 election cycle, the DNC raised a total of US $75,945,536 as of July 21, 2016. The three largest contributors were hedge fund Renaissance Technologies ( US $677,850 ), Newsweb Corp ( US $334,000 ) and Total Wine ( US $298,100 ). In June 2008, after Senator Barack Obama became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Dean announced that the DNC, emulating the Obama campaign, would no longer accept donations from federal lobbyists. In July 2015, during the 2016 election cycle, the DNC, led by Debbie Wasserman Schultz, reversed this policy. Current leadership Chair : Tom Perez, former U.S. Secretary of Labor under Barack Obama Deputy Chair : Keith Ellison, U.S. Representative from Minnesota 's 5th congressional district Vice Chair of Civic Engagement and Voter Participation : Karen Carter Peterson Vice Chairs : Michael Blake, New York Assemblyman Jaime Harrison, Associate Chair and former South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Maria Elena Durazo, Executive Secretary -- Treasurer of the AFL - CIO Ken Martin, Chair of the Minnesota Democratic - Farmer - Labor Party Grace Meng, U.S. Representative from New York 's 6th congressional district Treasurer : William `` Bill '' Derrough Secretary : Jason Rae Finance Chair : Henry Muñoz III In addition, a National Advisory Board exists for purposes of fundraising and advising the executive. The present chair is Elizabeth Frawley Bagley, former U.S. Ambassador to Portugal. List of DNC Chairs hide Officeholder Term State Benjamin F. Hallett 1848 -- 1852 Massachusetts Robert Milligan McLane 1852 -- 1856 Maryland David Allen Smalley 1856 -- 1860 Vermont August Belmont 1860 -- 1872 New York Augustus Schell 1872 -- 1876 New York Abram Stevens Hewitt 1876 -- 1877 New York William H. Barnum 1877 -- 1889 Connecticut Calvin Stewart Brice 1889 -- 1892 Ohio William F. Harrity 1892 -- 1896 Pennsylvania James K. Jones 1896 -- 1904 Arkansas Thomas Taggart 1904 -- 1908 Indiana Norman E. Mack 1908 -- 1912 New York William F. McCombs 1912 -- 1916 New York Vance C. McCormick 1916 -- 1919 Pennsylvania Homer S. Cummings 1919 -- 1920 Connecticut George White 1920 -- 1921 Ohio Cordell Hull 1921 -- 1924 Tennessee Clem L. Shaver 1924 -- 1928 West Virginia John J. Raskob 1928 -- 1932 New York James A. Farley 1932 -- 1940 New York Edward J. Flynn 1940 -- 1943 New York Frank C. Walker 1943 -- 1944 Pennsylvania Robert E. Hannegan 1944 -- 1947 Missouri J. Howard McGrath 1947 -- 1949 Rhode Island William M. Boyle 1949 -- 1951 Missouri Frank E. McKinney 1951 -- 1952 Indiana Stephen Mitchell 1952 -- 1955 Illinois Paul M. Butler 1955 -- 1960 Indiana Henry M. Jackson 1960 -- 1961 Washington John Moran Bailey 1961 -- 1968 Connecticut Larry O'Brien 1968 -- 1969 Massachusetts Fred R. Harris 1969 -- 1970 Oklahoma Larry O'Brien 1970 -- 1972 Massachusetts Jean Westwood 1972 Utah Robert S. Strauss 1972 -- 1977 Texas Kenneth M. Curtis 1977 -- 1978 Maine John C. White 1978 -- 1981 Texas Charles Manatt 1981 -- 1985 California Paul G. Kirk 1985 -- 1989 Massachusetts Ron Brown 1989 -- 1993 New York David Wilhelm 1993 -- 1994 Ohio Debra DeLee 1994 -- 1995 Massachusetts Chris Dodd Donald Fowler 1995 -- 1997 Connecticut South Carolina Roy Romer Steven Grossman 1997 -- 1999 Colorado Massachusetts Ed Rendell Joe Andrew 1999 -- 2001 Pennsylvania Indiana Terry McAuliffe 2001 -- 2005 Virginia Howard Dean 2005 -- 2009 Vermont Tim Kaine 2009 -- 2011 Virginia Donna Brazile 2011 Louisiana Debbie Wasserman Schultz 2011 -- 2016 Florida Donna Brazile 2016 -- 2017 Louisiana Tom Perez 2017 -- present Maryland 1 -- General Chair, served concurrently with National Chair ( 1995 -- 2001 ) 2 -- Interim Chair Source List of DNC Deputy Chairs Main article : Deputy Chair of the Democratic National Committee Officeholder Term State Ben Johnson 2003 -- 2005 Maryland Mike Honda 2003 -- 2005 California Susan W. Turnbull 2003 -- 2005 Maryland Keith Ellison 2017 -- present Minnesota Controversies Chinagate Main article : 1996 United States campaign finance controversy The Chinagate was an alleged effort by the People 's Republic of China to influence domestic American politics prior to and during the Clinton administration and also involved the fund - raising practices of the administration itself. Illegal fund raising In 2002, the Federal Election Commission fined the Democratic National Committee $115,000 for its part in fundraising violations in 1996. DNC hacking Main article : Democratic National Committee cyber attacks Debbie Wasserman Schultz served as DNC chair from 2011 to 2016. Cyber attacks and hacks were claimed by or attributed to various individual and groups such as : According to committee officials and security experts, two competing Russian intelligence services were discovered on DNC computer networks sometime in May 2016. One intelligence service achieved infiltration beginning in the summer of 2015 and the other service breached and roamed the network beginning in April 2016. The two groups accessed emails, chats and research on an opposing presidential candidate. They were expelled from the DNC system in June 2016. The hacker Guccifer 2.0 claimed that he hacked into the Democratic National Committee computer network and then leaked its emails to both the newspaper The Hill and the whistleblowing website Wikileaks. `` Hillary Clinton 's campaign manager, Robby Mook, cited experts saying that the DNC emails were leaked by the Russians. '' The press and cybersecurity firms discredited the Guccifer 2.0 claim, as investigators now believe Guccifer 2.0 was an agent of the G.R.U., Russia 's military intelligence service. '' Alleged coordination with Clinton primary campaign Main article : 2016 Democratic National Committee email leak On July 22, 2016, WikiLeaks released approximately 20,000 DNC emails. Critics claimed that the Committee unequally favored Hillary Clinton and acted in support of her nomination while opposing the candidacy of her primary challenger Bernie Sanders. Donna Brazile corroborated these allegations in an excerpt of her book published by Politico in November 2017, and also claimed that the Clinton campaign bought control of the DNC. The leaked emails spanned sixteen months, terminating in May 2016. The hack was claimed by the hacker Guccifer 2.0, but several cybersecurity firms believe this assertion is false. The WikiLeaks releases led to the resignations of Chairperson Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Communications Director Luis Miranda, Chief Financial Officer Brad Marshall and Chief Executive Amy Dacey. The DNC subsequently filed a lawsuit in federal court against WikiLeaks and others alleging a conspiracy to influence the election. History The Democratic Party 's national committee has existed since 1848. During the 1848 Democratic National Convention, a resolution was passed creating the Democratic National Committee, composed of thirty members, one person per state, chosen by the states ' delegations, and chaired by Benjamin F. Hallett. See also Information published by WikiLeaks References ^ Jump up to : Party History. Retrieved February 17, 2007. Archived November 4, 2006, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Smith, Melissa M. ; Williams, Glenda C. ; Powell, Larry ; Copeland, Gary A. ( 2010 ). Campaign Finance Reform : The Political Shell Game. Lexington Books. p. 14. ISBN 9780739145678. Retrieved 26 October 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` Democrats.org ''. Jump up ^ `` Public Funding of Presidential Elections ''. Federal Election Commission. February 2005. Retrieved October 29, 2006. Jump up ^ `` Delegate Selection Materials For the 2016 Democratic National Convention '' ( PDF ). December 15, 2014. Retrieved May 19, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Top Contributors 2002 Election Cycle DNC : OpenSecrets ''. www.opensecrets.org. Retrieved 3 August 2016. Jump up ^ `` Top Contributors DNC 2006 Cycle ''. www.opensecrets.org. Center for Responsive Politics. 17 June 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2016. Jump up ^ 2006 Democracy Bonds. Retrieved on August 2, 2007. Archived August 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` Top Contributors DNC 2016 Election ''. www.opensecrets.org. Center for Responsive Politics. 21 July 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2016. Jump up ^ Rhee, Foon ( June 5, 2008 ). `` DNC bars Washington lobbyist money ''. The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on July 15, 2008. Jump up ^ Smilowitz, Elliot ( July 24, 2015 ). `` DNC to allow lobbyist money to fund conventions ''. The Hill. Retrieved August 2, 2016. Jump up ^ David Weigel ( February 25, 2017 ). `` Thomas Perez elected the first Latino leader of Democratic Party ''. The Washington Post. Retrieved February 25, 2017. Jump up ^ Allison Sherry ( February 25, 2017 ). `` Ellison loses bid to lead Democrats, will stay in Congress ''. Minneapolis Star Tribune. Retrieved February 25, 2017. ^ Jump up to : Democratic National Committee ( January 22, 2013 ). `` Democratic National Committee Elects New Officers at Meeting in Washington Today ''. www.democrats.org. Archived from the original on February 2, 2013. Retrieved January 25, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Democratic Party on Twitter ''. Twitter. Retrieved 2017 - 02 - 27. Jump up ^ `` Rep. Grace Meng Elected DNC Vice Chairwoman ''. Roll Call. 2016 - 07 - 29. Retrieved 2016 - 07 - 29. Jump up ^ `` Democratic Party on Twitter ''. Twitter. Retrieved 2017 - 02 - 26. Jump up ^ `` Democratic Party on Twitter ''. Twitter. Retrieved 2017 - 02 - 26. Jump up ^ Lawrence Kestenbaum. `` A Database of Historic Cemeteries ''. The Political Graveyard web site. Retrieved December 29, 2010. Jump up ^ Joshua Cohen ( 2011 - 05 - 04 ). `` Breaking News : Debbie Wasserman Schultz Elected DNC Chair ''. Democrats.org. Archived from the original on August 2, 2013. Retrieved 2013 - 08 - 20. Jump up ^ `` Ben Johnson The HistoryMakers ''. www.thehistorymakers.com. Retrieved 2017 - 03 - 20. Jump up ^ `` Fund - raiser Charlie Trie pleads guilty under plea agreement ''. CNN. May 21, 1999. Archived from the original on August 5, 2006. Jump up ^ `` New Clinton Scandal Mirrors ' Chinagate, ' Say Analysts ''. CNSNews.com. July 7, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Chinagate and the Clintons ''. The American Spectator. October 6, 2016. Jump up ^ `` DNC fined for illegal 1996 fund raising '', CNN.com, September 23, 2002. Archived May 14, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. ^ Jump up to : Nakashima, Ellem ( 14 June 2016 ). `` Russian government hackers penetrated DNC, stole opposition research on Trump ''. The Washington Post. Washington DC. Retrieved 22 July 2016. Jump up ^ `` ' Lone Hacker ' Claims Responsibility for Cyber Attack on Democrats ''. NBC News. 2016 - 06 - 16. Retrieved 2016 - 07 - 27. ^ Jump up to : Sanger, David E. and Rick Corasaniti ( 14 June 2016 ). `` D.N.C. Says Russian Hackers Penetrated Its Files, Including Dossier on Donald Trump ''. The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved 24 July 2016. Jump up ^ Uchill, Joe ( 2016 - 07 - 13 ). `` Guccifer 2.0 releases new DNC docs ''. The Hill. Retrieved 2016 - 07 - 27. Jump up ^ Joe, Uchill ( 2016 - 07 - 18 ). `` New Guccifer 2.0 dump highlights ' wobbly Dems ' on Iran deal ''. The Hill. Retrieved 2016 - 07 - 27. Jump up ^ Ross, Chuck ( 2016 - 07 - 22 ). `` Wikileaks Releases Nearly 20,000 Hacked DNC Emails ''. The Daily Caller. Retrieved 2016 - 07 - 27. Jump up ^ Mackey, Robert ( 2016 - 07 - 26 ). `` If Russian Intelligence Did Hack the DNC, the NSA Would Know, Snowden Says ''. The Intercept. Retrieved 2016 - 07 - 27. Jump up ^ `` EXCLUSIVE : WikiLeaks ' Julian Assange on Releasing DNC Emails That Ousted Debbie Wasserman Schultz ''. Democracy Now !. 2016 - 07 - 25. Retrieved 2016 - 07 - 27. Jump up ^ Alperovitch, Dmitri ( 15 June 2016 ). `` Bears in the Midst : Intrusion into the Democratic National Committee ''. From The Front Lines. CrowdStrike, Inc. Retrieved 22 July 2016. Jump up ^ Sanger, David E. ; Schmitt, Eric ( July 26, 2016 ). `` Spy Agency Consensus Grows That Russia Hacked D.N.C. '' New York Times. Retrieved July 27, 2016. Jump up ^ `` WikiLeaks - Search the DNC email database ''. wikileaks.org. 22 July 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2016. Jump up ^ Brazile, Donna ( November 2, 2017 ). `` Inside Hillary Clinton 's Secret Takeover of the DNC ''. Politico. Retrieved November 4, 2017. Jump up ^ Uchill, Joe ( 2016 - 07 - 22 ). `` WikiLeaks posts 20,000 DNC emails ''. thehill.com. The Hill. Retrieved 2016 - 07 - 23. Jump up ^ `` Guccifer 2.0 Claims Responsibility for WikiLeaks DNC Email Dump ''. Motherboard Vice. Retrieved August 2, 2016. Jump up ^ Top Democratic National Committee officials resign in wake of email breach, The Washington Post, Abby Phillip & Katie Zezima, August 2, 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016. Jump up ^ Tom Hamburger, Rosalind S. Helderman and Ellen Nakashima ( April 20, 2017 ). `` Democratic Party sues Russia, Trump campaign and WikiLeaks alleging 2016 campaign conspiracy ''. The Washington Post. Jump up ^ Macy, Jesse ( 1914 ). `` Committees, Party ''. In McLaughlin, Andrew Cunningham ; Bushnell Hart, Albert. Cyclopedia of American Government. 1. pp. 361 -- 363. Jump up ^ Edwin Howe, Joseph ( 1919 ). The Democratic National Committee, 1830 - 1876 ( Master 's thesis ). University of Wisconsin - Madison -- via Google Books. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Democratic National Committee. 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Question: who is the head of the dnc now
Answer: Tom Perez, former U.S. Secretary of Labor under Barack Obama