The Pro-Democracy Campaign (PDC) is a left-of-center nonprofit that funds voter mobilization, electoral security, and other election-related issues throughout the United States. The New York Times and Politico describe the PDC as well as its sister group, the Pro-Democracy Center, as secretive and “quiet” despite the scale of their spending, which reached $32 million in the 2022 election cycle. ^{1 2}

Background

According to the Pro-Democracy Campaign’s website, the organization was founded in fall 2021 in response to the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump and subsequent election-related laws pushed throughout the United States by Republican state legislatures, which PDC characterized as “anti-voting laws.” ³

According to reporting from Puck, PDC and its sister group, the Pro-Democracy Center, were established by Heather Smith, a liberal activist with a career focused on growing youth voting participation. Her goal was to establish a fund to raise $62.5 million from left-of-center donors concerned about voter turnout and voting access. Smith and her team interviewed the leaders of 100 organizations before launching her fund, arguing, “This could be the most significant campaign in scale, scope and level of coordination around voting rights and democracy issues ever been attempted by our side in the states.” ⁴

Activities

During the 2022 midterm elections, the Pro-Democracy Campaign and Pro-Democracy Center raised and spent $23 million “to combat election denialism and promote voting access” by running campaigns to promote voting among racial minorities and young voters, register new voters, support voter-access bills, and provide election security. The funds were spread across 126 organizations in 16 states, particularly Arizona, Wisconsin, and Michigan. About $6 million was spent on national groups. An additional $16 million was raised for recipient groups through connections set up by PDC. ⁵

Partner groups and funding recipients from the Pro-Democracy Campaign include Planned Parenthood, Mi Familia Vota Education Fund, and Fair Fight Action. ⁶

Funding

In a December 2022 interview with the New York Times, Pro-Democracy Campaign executive director David Donnelly refused to disclose PDC’s donors but acknowledged that its $32 million campaign in 2022 was funded by “roughly 15” individuals with “a range of ideological views.” ⁷

Leadership

David Donnelly is the executive director of the Pro-Democracy Campaign and the Pro-Democracy Center, as well as the director of the Democratic-aligned consultancy Of By For. Donnelly is also a consultant for the State Democracy Project, a coalition representing left-of-center and left-wing organizations including Center for Popular Democracy, Demos, End Citizens United, MoveOn.org, NAACP, Planned Parenthood Federation of America,  Working Families Organization, and Of By For. ^{8 9}

Rajan Narang is the senior director of states at PDC. Narang is the founder of his own political consulting firm, Shakti Campaigns. He previously worked as the executive director of the State Democracy Project and State Democracy Action, and director of state and local campaigns at End Citizens United. ¹⁰

Jessica Wisneki is a senior strategist at PDC. She previously served as a New York organizer at the Democracy Alliance, co-executive director of Citizen Action of New York, and project coordinator of the New York Public Interest Research Group. ¹¹

Scarlett Jimenez is the project manager of fundraising at PDC. Jimenez previously worked in numerous roles at the Alliance for Youth Action, ending as senior development director. Earlier, Jimenez worked at Colorado Youth Matters and for the Colorado Democratic Party. ¹²

Amy Dominguez-Arms is a senior advisor at PDC, the executive director of the Roger I. and Ruth B. MacFarlane Foundation, and runs her own independent political consulting firm. Previously Dominguez-Arms worked at the James Irvine Foundation for twelve years and Children Now for over eleven years. ¹³

Zyanna Correa is the executive assistant and special projects manager at PDC. Correa previously worked at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for over eight years, concluding as the executive assistant to the chief communications officer. ¹⁴

PDC’s advisory council includes associates from the Protect Democracy Project, the Rockefeller Family Fund, the Working Families Party, AGIS Partners, the Research Collaborative Fund, and the National Domestic Workers Alliance. ¹⁵

1. Glueck, Katie. “Two Groups Quietly Spent $32 Million Rallying Voters Behind Voting Rights.” The New York Times. December 12, 2022. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/12/us/politics/midterm-elections-voting-rights.html.
2. Montellaro, Zach. “Inside the secret $32M effort to stop ‘Stop the Steal’.” Politico. December 12, 2022. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/12/midterm-election-trump-maga-00073354.
3. “Homepage.” Pro-Democracy Campaign. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://www.prodemocracy.us/.
4. Schleifer, Theodore. “Mini-Benioff Makes His Mega-Play.” Puck. March 22, 2022. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://puck.news/mini-benioff-makes-his-mega-play/.
5. Glueck, Katie. “Two Groups Quietly Spent $32 Million Rallying Voters Behind Voting Rights.” The New York Times. December 12, 2022. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/12/us/politics/midterm-elections-voting-rights.html.
6. Glueck, Katie. “Two Groups Quietly Spent $32 Million Rallying Voters Behind Voting Rights.” The New York Times. December 12, 2022. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/12/us/politics/midterm-elections-voting-rights.html.
7. Glueck, Katie. “Two Groups Quietly Spent $32 Million Rallying Voters Behind Voting Rights.” The New York Times. December 12, 2022. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/12/us/politics/midterm-elections-voting-rights.html.
8. “David Donnelly.” LinkedIn. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-donnelly-145662a7/.
9. “State Democracy Project.” Idealist. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://www.idealist.org/en/nonprofit/4ca816dd70284dd0be11bbbca22690b3-state-democracy-project-washington/
10. “Rajan Narang.” LinkedIn. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rdnarang/.
11. “Jessica Wisneki.” LinkedIn. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-wisneski-2627361bb/.
12. “Scarlett Jimenez.” LinkedIn. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://www.prodemocracy.us/team.
13. “Amy Dominguez-Arms.” LinkedIn. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-dominguez-arms-41a58347/.
14. “Zyanna Correa.” LinkedIn. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/zyanyacorrea/.
15. “Meet Our Team.” Pro-Democracy Campaign. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://www.prodemocracy.us/team.