College Democrats of America is a political action committee and the national student arm of the Democratic National Committee. The organization focuses on pushing left-of-center issues, including the cancellation of student loan debt and environmentalism. ¹

Despite being officially a subdivision of the Democratic National Committee, College Democrats of America only received a guarantee of funding from the DNC in 2018. Then-DNC Chair Tom Perez announced in early 2018 that the organization would provide CDA with a “line item budget and startup investment.” ²

College Democrats of America have been accused of racism, Islamophobia, antisemitism, and bigotry, culminating in the Democratic National Committee considering disaffiliation from the organization. ³

Background

College Democrats of America (CDA) is a political action committee (PAC) and the national student arm of the Democratic National Committee, the governing body of the Democratic Party that sets the Party’s platform, facilitates the Democratic presidential nomination process, and coordinates state-level strategy. ⁴

The organization, which was founded as part of the Young Democrats of America during the 1932 election campaign of Franklin D. Roosevelt, states that it is “dedicated” to electing “Democrats across the country” by utilizing students. The organization focuses on pushing left-of-center issues, including the cancellation of student loan debt and environmentalism. ^{5 6}

Members of CDA must all be in college, university, or a post-secondary educational institution. Individuals must also be a member of the Democratic Party. CDA notes that it is comprised of individual members, state federations, chapters, caucuses, and elected representatives. ⁷

CDA’s chapters consist of student organizations in post-secondary educational institutions across the country including various types of universities and community colleges. CDA chapters encourage students to be involved in Democratic Party campaigns, canvassing, volunteering, and advocacy. Chapters also work with local Democratic Party candidates. An example of a CDA chapter would be the University of Pennsylvania College Democrats. ⁸

All CDA chapters are chartered with the organizations’ state federations. CDA limits one federation per state, territory, or jurisdiction. That federation will only recognize one CDA chapter per university, college, or post-secondary educational institution. Federations can also serve as the College Caucus for the Young Democrats of America, the youth outreach arm of the Democratic National Committee. State federations also work closely with their state’s Democratic Party. ⁹

College Democrats of America also has an executive board consisting of a president, vice president, seven directors, the national council chair, national council vice-chair, and the national council secretary. The national council of CDA is a representative body that makes legislative decisions regarding the organization. ¹⁰

College Democrats of America also consists of caucuses, which are either “identity or issue-based,” and committees, including the organization’s committee on elections, committee on the platform, and committee on the rules. ¹¹

CDA has 43 state federations across the country, and more than 100,000 members across the United States. ¹²

Financial Activity

The organization is registered, as of January 2023, as an “unauthorized hybrid” political action committee (PAC) with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). According to the FEC’s committee database, there are four profiles for College Democrats of America. ¹³

The first College Democrats of America FEC profile was registered in March 1991 but was terminated in 1992 after no money was raised or spent. ¹⁴

The organization also registered another PAC in 1992. College Democrats of America Inc., raised and disbursed a total of $191,541 and $152,096 in 1992, $467,177 and $498,115 between 1993 and 1994, $113,329 and $121,626 between 1995 and 1996, $96,865 and $96,689 between 1997 and 1998, $50,207 and $49,308 between 1999 and 2000, $75,539 and $61,738 between 2001 and 2002, $13,613 and $28,394 between 2003 and 2004, respectively. ¹⁵

College Democrats of America recreated its PAC in March 2022. According to its FEC filing, the PAC has received $1,580 since its inception and disbursed no money as of January 2023. ¹⁶

Despite being officially a subdivision of the Democratic National Committee, College Democrats of America only received a guarantee of funding from the DNC in 2018. Then-DNC Chair Tom Perez announced in early 2018 that the organization would provide CDA with a “line item budget and startup investment.” ¹⁷

Controversies

College Democrats of America have been accused of racism, “islamophobia,” antisemitism, and bigotry, culminating in the Democratic National Committee considering disaffiliation from the organization. ¹⁸

Racism

Matthew Nowling, the College Democrats of America’s communications director in 2020 and the only African-American member of the organization’s executive board of directors at the time, accused CDA’s executive board of racism, claiming that other members “cast him as lazy and incompetent,” and mocked his suggestion to hold a diversity town hall meeting. ¹⁹

Nowling resigned from his position after the accusations. After demands from other members of CDA, then-president Mikaela Guido resigned, and Nowling became interim president until the fall of 2020. ²⁰

After Nowling’s allegations, 40 state federations of CDA signed an open letter to CDA demanding that remote voting for the organization’s elections should be implemented, and an executive board position dedicated to diversity should be created. ²¹

One of CDA’s state federations, the College Democrats of Missouri (CDMO), disaffiliated itself from the College Democrats of America, noting that the national organization had “pervasive issues” that were “deeply seeded into the organization.” ²²

Islamophobia

College Democrats of America was accused of Islamophobia in November 2021. The organization was asked to open an “independent investigation” into members who had allegedly “repeatedly harassed” Nourhan Mesbah, the organization’s then-vice president, who had posted a pro-Palestinian message on social media. ²³

Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a large and prominent advocacy organization for Muslims in the United States, promoted the accusations against CDA. ^{24 25 26}  CAIR claimed that the harassment included members “liking” a social media comment that stated there was “no room for racist totalitarianism” in CDA, and that the organization should “boot this jihadist out.” ²⁷

After the investigation, the CDA board passed a resolution that required Mesbah to “undergo training about antisemitism and cultural sensitivity from the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, or the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.” According to Politico, Mesbah had not attended such training as of November 2021. ²⁸

Mesbah’s successor as director of inclusion, diversity, equity, and access, Jeremy Ward, released a report on November 12, 2021, calling for Mesbah’s resignation. Ward had announced an independent investigation into Mesbah, which claimed she exhibited “a pattern of discrimination against members of the black community, specifically black women.” ²⁹

Before the report was publicly released, CAIR wrote a letter to CDA requesting an investigation into “rampant anti-Muslim bigotry.” Twelve Muslim advocacy and pro-Palestinian groups, including CAIR, denounced CDA for using the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee as sensitivity trainers, adding that the organizations had a “history of anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian actions.” ³⁰

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4. “Membership FAQ.” College Democrats. Accessed January 9, 2023. https://www.collegedemsofamerica.com/general-5.
5. “Membership FAQ.” College Democrats. Accessed January 9, 2023. https://www.collegedemsofamerica.com/general-5.
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7. “Membership FAQ.” College Democrats. Accessed January 9, 2023. https://www.collegedemsofamerica.com/general-5.
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19. Khan, Aamina. “The College Democrats of America Had a Reckoning Over Diversity.” Teen Vogue. August 11, 2021. Accessed January 9, 2023. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/college-democrats-of-america-diversity.
20. Khan, Aamina. “The College Democrats of America Had a Reckoning Over Diversity.” Teen Vogue. August 11, 2021. Accessed January 9, 2023. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/college-democrats-of-america-diversity.
21. Khan, Aamina. “The College Democrats of America Had a Reckoning Over Diversity.” Teen Vogue. August 11, 2021. Accessed January 9, 2023. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/college-democrats-of-america-diversity.
22. Khan, Aamina. “The College Democrats of America Had a Reckoning Over Diversity.” Teen Vogue. August 11, 2021. Accessed January 9, 2023. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/college-democrats-of-america-diversity.
23. Salai, Sean. “Muslim advocacy group accuses College Democrats of ‘Islamophobia’.” Washington Times. November 12, 2021. Accessed January 9, 2023. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/nov/12/muslim-advocacy-group-accuses-college-democrats-is/.
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26. Gerstein, Josh. “Judge snubbed U.S. Islamic groups in secret ruling.” POLITICO. November 1, 2009. Accessed January 9, 2023. https://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2009/11/judge-snubbed-us-islamic-groups-in-secret-ruling-022503.
27. Salai, Sean. “Muslim advocacy group accuses College Democrats of ‘Islamophobia’.” Washington Times. November 12, 2021. Accessed January 9, 2023. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/nov/12/muslim-advocacy-group-accuses-college-democrats-is/.
28. ^[1] Thompson, Alex. “Allegations of bigotry and calls for impeachment rock College Democrats.” POLITICO. November 17, 2021. Accessed January 9, 2023. https://www.politico.com/news/2021/11/17/college-democrats-of-america-dnc-522864.
29. Thompson, Alex. “Allegations of bigotry and calls for impeachment rock College Democrats.” POLITICO. November 17, 2021. Accessed January 9, 2023. https://www.politico.com/news/2021/11/17/college-democrats-of-america-dnc-522864.
30. Thompson, Alex. “Allegations of bigotry and calls for impeachment rock College Democrats.” POLITICO. November 17, 2021. Accessed January 9, 2023. https://www.politico.com/news/2021/11/17/college-democrats-of-america-dnc-522864.