New Democrat Network Political Action Committee (NDNPAC) was formed in 1996 as a left-of-center committee to advocate and elect Democrats to office. After reorganizing in 2003, the political action committee and its parent organization, New Democrat Network, were involved in funding controversies and the PAC ceased operations after the 2006 election.

History

New Democrat Network was formed in 1996 by Simon Rosenberg as a left-of-center political advocacy group. The organization was initially similar to the left-of-center Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), an ally of the Clinton administration, but differed in that it could contribute money directly to political candidates. ¹ By 2004, Al From, the long-time head of the DLC, noted a rift between the two groups, suggesting that NDN backed then-Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D) in his presidential run as opposed to candidates supported by the more moderate DLC. ² Rosenberg has denied supporting Dean, but noted his appreciation for Dean’s actions in developing a small donor base and reaching out to various left-of-center constituencies. ³

In 2005, Rosenberg ran for chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and lost to Dean. ⁴ The New Democrat Network had transformed from a direct candidate-funding committee into its current inception as a lobbying and electoral advocacy organization while still giving money to candidates through its political action committee (PAC) and 527 campaign organization. ⁵ NDN closed NDNPAC in 2006. ⁶ New Democrat Network’s non-federal campaign 527 arm closed in 2014. ⁷

Controversy

In February 2003, New Democrat Network reorganized as a membership organization with a separate segregated federal political action committee, which it registered with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). ⁸ Because of ongoing investigations into NDN’s 527, it could not terminate the 527 account’s federal link due to a previous enforcement matter. ⁹ New Democrat Network was finally able to reorganize NDN’s 527 arm into a non-federal campaign financing organization in January 2005. ¹⁰

However, during 2004, the NDN 527 sponsored advertising that was critical of the George W. Bush administration and conducted polling on messaging to be used against then-President Bush in swing states during the 2004 presidential campaign. ¹¹ As a result, the FEC investigated whether NDN’s 527 was mainly a federal campaign fund or not during the 2004 election cycle, whether it was advocating against a candidate, and if it failed to report expenditures to the FEC. ¹²

Funding

The federal NDNPAC spent $205,781 in the 2004 election cycle and $5,716 on the 2006 election. ¹³ The NDN 527 spent far more. For the 2004 election, it spent $13,457,633 while raising $12,726,158. ¹⁴ In 2006, NDN 527 spent $1,774,204 and raised $1,256,434. ¹⁵ During 2008, the last year of recorded contributions and expenses, NDN 527 raised $178,000 and spent $401,001. ¹⁶ All contributions from the PAC and 527 went to Democrat candidates.

Leadership

Simon Rosenberg was president and founder of New Democrat Network PAC. ¹⁷ He began his career working for ABC News before taking time off in 1987-88 to work on the presidential campaign of Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis (D). ¹⁸ He returned to working for ABC News until 1992 when he left to join the presidential campaign of Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton (D) prior to the New Hampshire primary. ¹⁹ After working in the Clinton administration, Rosenberg founded NDN and its associated organizations in 1996. ²⁰ After his run for DNC chair in 2005, Rosenberg began teaching at Tufts University. ²¹ In 2018, Rosenberg was a senior advisor for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and continues running the 501(c)(4) New Democrat Network and consults for Democrat candidates, party officials, and left-of-center causes. ²²

1.  Klein, Joe. “Fighting for the Soul of the Democrats.” Time. May 23, 2004. Accessed April 1, 2022. http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,641110,00.html.
2. Klein, Joe. “Fighting for the Soul of the Democrats.” Time. May 23, 2004. Accessed April 1, 2022. http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,641110,00.html.
3. Klein, Joe. “Fighting for the Soul of the Democrats.” Time. May 23, 2004. Accessed April 1, 2022. http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,641110,00.html.
4. Abrams, Paul. “Simon Rosenberg is the Perfect Choice for DNC Chair.” Huffington Post. May 25, 2011. Accessed April 1, 2022. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/simon-rosenberg-is-the-pe_b_146052.
5. Center for Responsive Politics website. www.opensecrets.org. Accessed April 1, 2022. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/C00385401/summary/2020; Center for Responsive Politics website. www.opensecrets.org. Accessed April 1, 2022. https://www.opensecrets.org/527s/527cmtedetail.php?cycle=2004&ein=521981307; New Democrat Network, Return of an Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2019.
6. Center for Responsive Politics website. www.opensecrets.org. Accessed April 1, 2022. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/C00385401/summary/2020; Center for Responsive Politics website. www.opensecrets.org. Accessed April 1, 2022. https://www.opensecrets.org/527s/527cmtedetail.php?cycle=2004&ein=521981307.
7. New Democrat Network, Non-Federal Form 8871, April 2014. https://forms.irs.gov/app/pod/basicSearch/search?_eventId_displayForm=true&formId=77320&formtype=e8871&execution=e1s8.
8. Federal Election Commission letter. June 10, 2005. Accessed April 4, 2002. https://www.fec.gov/files/legal/murs/current/63451.pdf.
9. Federal Election Commission letter. June 10, 2005. Accessed April 4, 2002. https://www.fec.gov/files/legal/murs/current/63451.pdf.
10. Federal Election Commission letter. June 10, 2005. Accessed April 4, 2002. https://www.fec.gov/files/legal/murs/current/63451.pdf.
11. Federal Election Commission letter. June 10, 2005. Accessed April 4, 2002. https://www.fec.gov/files/legal/murs/current/63451.pdf.
12. ^[1] Federal Election Commission letter. June 10, 2005. Accessed April 4, 2002. https://www.fec.gov/files/legal/murs/current/63451.pdf.
13. Center for Responsive Politics. Accessed April 4, 2022. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/new-democrat-network/C00385401/candidate-recipients/2004; Center for Responsive Politics. Accessed April 4, 2022. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/new-democrat-network/C00385401/candidate-recipients/2006
14. Center for Responsive Politics. Accessed April 4, 2022. https://www.opensecrets.org/527s/527cmtedetail.php?cycle=2004&ein=521981307.
15. Center for Responsive Politics. Accessed April 4, 2022. https://www.opensecrets.org/527s/527cmtedetail.php?cycle=2004&ein=521981307.
16. Center for Responsive Politics. Accessed April 4, 2022. https://www.opensecrets.org/527s/527cmtedetail.php?cycle=2004&ein=521981307.
17. ^[1] Simon Rosenberg. LinkedIn. Accessed April 1, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-rosenberg-846105/.
18. Short, Fina. “Prof. Simon Rosenberg on career, the Democratic party’s past, and future battles.” Tufts Daily. November 7, 2016. Accessed April 2, 2022. https://tuftsdaily.com/features/2016/11/07/prof-simon-rosenberg-on-career-the-democratic-partys-past-and-future-battles/.
19. Short, Fina. “Prof. Simon Rosenberg on career, the Democratic party’s past, and future battles.” Tufts Daily. November 7, 2016. Accessed April 2, 2022. https://tuftsdaily.com/features/2016/11/07/prof-simon-rosenberg-on-career-the-democratic-partys-past-and-future-battles/.
20. ^[1] Simon Rosenberg LinkedIn profile. www.linkedin.com. Accessed April 1, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-rosenberg-846105/.
21. Short, Fina. “Prof. Simon Rosenberg on career, the Democratic party’s past, and future battles.” Tufts Daily. November 7, 2016. Accessed April 2, 2022. https://tuftsdaily.com/features/2016/11/07/prof-simon-rosenberg-on-career-the-democratic-partys-past-and-future-battles/.
22. Devega, Chauncey. “Democratic insider Simon Rosenberg: Trump is ‘being coached by Putin’ to Seize Power.” Salon. August 18, 2020. Accessed April 1, 2022. https://www.salon.com/2020/08/18/democratic-insider-simon-rosenberg-trump-is-being-coached-by-putin-to-seize-power/.