The New Democrat Network is a United States political group that promotes progressive Democratic candidates, especially those in a more centrist vein, although this focus has waxed and waned. NDN is a 501(c)(4) membership organization that functions in conjunction with its two subsidiary organizations, the NDN Political Fund, a non-federal political organization (527), and NDN PAC, a federal political action committee. As a whole, the organization works to advance the 21st Century American progressive movement, with particular focus on advocacy, strategy and investment in emerging leaders and projects.
NDN is led and was founded by Simon Rosenberg in 1996 after his split with the Democratic Leadership Council, for which he worked. Before founding NDN, Rosenberg worked as a television news writer and producer and a political strategist for the Dukakis and Clinton presidential campaigns and the Democratic National Committee. NDN has offices in DC, New York, San Francisco, and Miami.
NDN claims that it uses a more technologically modern and grassroots participatory approach to its activities than the DLC. The NDN, while not supporting or embracing 2004 Democratic presidential primary candidate Howard Dean, has pointed to his online network of small donors, volunteers, and bloggers as the model to emulate for the Democratic Party. The NDN is now challenging the DLC and is becoming an increasingly influential player in the party's politics.
