David Hogg

Early Life

David Hogg is originally from Los Angeles but moved to Parkland, Florida where he attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Hogg’s father, Kevin Hogg, is a former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent. ^{1 5}

On February 14, 2018, when David Hogg was a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, a 19-year-old killed 17 students and injuring 18 others before being arrested. Hogg’s sister, Lauren Hogg, was also a student and survived the shooting. ¹

Early Activism

On February 15, 2018, following the Parkland shooting, David Hogg appeared on CNN where he called on lawmakers to implement stricter gun control measures to prevent mass shootings, stating “We’re children. You guys are the adults.” ⁶ In a CBS interview, Hogg called for politicians to, “[a]ctually keep your promises. Don’t just make false promises just so you can get re-elected,” while advocating for mental health care reform and universal background checks for firearm purchases. ⁷ On February 20 that year, Hogg and several Marjory Stoneman Douglas students traveled to Washington, D.C. to lobby the U.S. Congress in support of gun control. ^{8 6} On February 21, Hogg and his sister appeared on the TV show “Dr. Phil” to discuss the shooting. ⁹

In response, Hogg was the subject of far-right conspiracy theorists who claimed that he was a crisis actor hired to increase gun control sentiment following real or fake mass shootings. Donald Trump, Jr., the political-activist son of President Donald Trump, retweeted articles from the Gateway Pundit making conspiratorial claims, and an aide to then-Florida state Rep. Shawn Harrison (R-Tampa) was fired for publicly making these claims. ^{1 10 5}

On March 9, 2018, partially in response to Hogg’s activism, Florida passed an Extreme Risk Protection Order law (also known as Red Flag law) that prohibited individuals from purchasing firearms if they were deemed dangerous to themselves or others. ¹¹

In a March 2018 interview with Time, Hogg referred to then-Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) as “the devil” and referred to the struggle for gun control as “kids versus evil.” ¹²

On March 24, 2018, Hogg began co-leading Washington, D.C-based, and later national, demonstrations advocating for control measures. These protests formalized into the protest movement March for Our Lives. Hogg is listed as one of the 28 co-founders of the movement (along with his sister Lauren), all of whom are survivors of the Parkland mass shooting incident. ¹³

In April 2018, Hogg urged then-U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) to propose a federal bill requiring universal background checks for all gun purchases. ¹⁴

In the summer of 2018, Hogg went on a nationwide tour to promote gun control. In June, Hogg was the victim of a Swatting event, a form of criminal action wherein a caller makes a false 9-1-1 call to attempt to have the target’s home swarmed by armed police. ^{15 11}

In October 2018, Hogg spoke at an event with Boston Public Library president David Leonard on gun control. Hogg advocated the adoption of federal “Extreme Risk Protection Orders” and claimed that “racial inequality and media bias play a role in determining which shootings get covered [by the media] and which don’t.” ¹¹

College Activism

In April 2018, David Hogg announced that he was taking a gap year between graduating from high school and starting college to volunteer in get-out-the-vote efforts during the 2018 elections. ³ Hogg worked on the election campaign of U.S Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL). ¹⁶

The following year, 2019, Hogg began attending Harvard University where he continued to engage in anti-gun activism. ¹²

In May 2023, Hogg graduated from Harvard along with fellow Parkland shooting survivor Jaclyn Corin. ¹⁷

Leaders We Deserve

In August 2023, David Hogg announced that he was forming Leaders We Deserve, a political action committee and Super PAC dedicated to supporting the campaigns of young Democratic candidates running for office. The group was co-founded by Kevin Lata, the campaign manager for U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL). ¹⁶

In 2025, Hogg became involved in Democratic primary politics through Leaders We Deserve, endorsing progressive candidates challenging incumbent Democrats in safely Democratic districts. In Massachusetts’ 8th congressional district, he endorsed Patrick Roath, a voting rights attorney and former aide to Governor Deval Patrick, who is running against longtime Representative Stephen Lynch. Hogg cited Roath’s positions on health care affordability, voting rights, and immigration policy, as well as Lynch’s past vote against the Affordable Care Act, as reasons for the endorsement. The move was part of Leaders We Deserve’s broader strategy to support younger progressive challengers, which has drawn both attention and criticism within the Democratic Party. ¹⁸

DNC Vice Chair

In December 2024, David Hogg announced that he was running for vice chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Hogg received endorsements from Governor Tim Walz (D-MN) and U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA). In February 2025, Hogg won the fourth of five vice chair positions. ²

In April 2025, Hogg announced that his Leaders We Deserve PAC planned to spend $20 million to support primary challenges to “ineffective” Democratic incumbents. It was later reported that other DNC members objected to Hogg supporting campaigns against incumbent Democrats. ^{19 20}

In May 2025, the DNC Credentials Committee declared that the elections of Hogg and fellow vice chair Malcolm Kenyatta were invalid because their elections violated the DNC’s gender diversity requirement bylines. ²¹ The DNC then voted to uphold the Credentials Committee’s decision, thereby nullifying the elections of Hogg and Kenyatta. Though he was eligible to run again for the seat, Hogg declined. ²²