Ken Martin, the Democratic National Committee chairman, is taking a symbolic step toward curbing the influence of undisclosed and corporate funds in his party’s 2028 presidential primary, a move that is likely to instigate a broader conversation about the role of big money in Democratic politics.
Mr. Martin’s proposal, which was included in a packet of documents to be sent to D.N.C. members that was obtained by The New York Times, seeks to have a new reforms committee propose “real, enforceable steps the D.N.C. can take to eliminate unlimited corporate and dark money in its 2028 presidential primary process” by the summer of 2026.
The move is the first significant maneuver from Mr. Martin to shape the party’s next presidential nominating process. How much bite the effort has will be determined in large part by the enforcement mechanism the party seeks to implement.
Efforts to curb the influence of super PACs, which can take in unlimited contributions but must disclose their donors, in the 2020 Democratic primaries failed when the party’s leading candidates — from Joseph R. Biden Jr. to Elizabeth Warren — accepted and encouraged support from such outside groups.
Candidates already cannot accept so-called dark money contributions directly to their campaigns. Most of the dark money in Democratic politics is routed through issue-advocacy groups that are forbidden to coordinate directly with candidates and have not traditionally had much involvement in party primaries.
Mr. Martin’s proposal notably does not attempt to address the role of super PACs or direct-but-limited contributions from corporations like those the D.N.C. accepts.
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The post The D.N.C.’s New Leader Seeks to Curb Dark Money Influence in 2028 Primaries appeared first on New York Times.
