DNC chair takes steps to restrict corporate and dark money in 2028 primaries

CNN

6 days ago

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Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin will ask party members later this month to take the first step towards restricting corporate and so-called dark money spending in the 2028 presidential primaries, siding with progressives in an ongoing intraparty debate over campaign finance rules.
Martin will introduce a resolution at the DNC's August meeting calling on a new reforms panel to explore ways the party can eliminate corporate and dark money donations from the upcoming presidential primary cycle, according to a draft obtained by CNN.
Progressives, including Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, have called on the DNC to ban super PAC spending in Democratic presidential primaries for years. Those calls have grown in the wake of increased spending from cryptocurrency groups and pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC in Democratic primaries.
The draft resolution does not explicitly mention super PACs, and it's not clear whether it will ultimately restrict super PAC spending in party primaries. The draft concedes the 'only way to solve for this problem in the long term is through Congressional action, including a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United,' the landmark 2010 Supreme Court case that helped usher in a new era of big money in American elections.
Sanders – a former Democratic presidential candidate – and seven Senate Democrats wrote Martin and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in June asking the committee to launch a process to develop ways to enforce a ban on super PAC spending in primaries.
Critics within the party have argued that limiting super PAC spending would put Democrats at a disadvantage with Republicans. They've also noted the challenge in enforcing such a ban. Democratic candidates cannot coordinate with super PACs, but big money groups have become key parts of presidential campaigns, to the benefit of both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris in 2024.
Former DNC Chair Jaime Harrison called the June letter from Sanders 'performative' and urged Democratic lawmakers to pass legislation in Congress.
'The DNC can pass a resolution… a strongly worded resolution and what will be the impact,' Harrison wrote on X at the time. 'Those same PACs will do whatever the hell they want to do. So what other 'action' can the DNC take that will produce the result suggested?!'
Martin's resolution, if passed, would task the new panel to explore exactly what those other actions might be. It calls on the Committee on Reforms to 'identify and study … real, enforceable steps the DNC can take to eliminate unlimited corporate and dark money in its 2028 presidential primary process.'
The reforms panel would also develop a list of legislative goals to present to Congress. The committee would present its proposals to the full DNC next summer. DNC members will vote on the resolution during their summer meeting in Minneapolis, which will take place from August 25-27.