Democrats and Democratic-Leaning Independents Want the DNC to Align With Working People, Not Corporate Interests
Following Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss in the 2024 presidential election, the Democratic National Committee will elect its new chair on February 1. The chair will be tasked with leading the party throughout Donald Trump’s second term and helping Democrats chart a path forward to compete in future elections.
A new Data for Progress survey of likely Democratic and Democratic-leaning Independent voters, conducted December 12-13, 2024, finds that Democratic voters strongly believe the next DNC chair should not be tied to corporate interests and that they should align themselves with workers and the middle class.
Nearly all Democrats (93%) and Democratic-leaning Independents (87%) say that it is important that lobbyists from Big Pharma, Big Tech, Wall Street, and other corporate interests do not influence the next DNC chair. Nearly two-thirds of Democrats (64%) and Democratic-leaning Independents (60%) say this is “very important.”
This sentiment is notable given that 61% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents say “big corporations and Wall Street have too much influence within the Democratic Party.” Sixty-one percent of these voters also say the same for big donors.
Conversely, an overwhelming majority of Democrats (89%) and Democratic-leaning Independents (88%) believe “the next party chair should be someone who listens to working and middle-class voters rather than corporate and wealthy executives.”
Notably, Democrats view their party as more supportive of working families than Democratic-leaning Independents do, while Democratic-leaning Independents more frequently view the party as supporting the wealthy.
When asked if the Democratic Party has become more or less supportive of working and middle-class families, Democrats say more supportive by a +40-point margin, but Democratic-leaning Independents are more split, with a plurality saying more supportive by only a +2-point margin.
Meanwhile, half of Democratic-leaning Independents believe the party has become more supportive of wealthy individuals and corporations, while Democratic voters are more split in their opinion, with a slight plurality (47%) saying “less supportive.”
Finally, 78% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents strongly believe “Democrats should take on big corporations and wealthy individuals who have rigged the system to make things better for working and middle-class families,” compared with only 22% who believe “Democrats should work to improve their relationships with big corporations and wealthy individuals which will help grow the economy and win elections.”
These findings demonstrate that Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents do not want big donors or corporations to wield influence over the next DNC chair. Rather, they want the Democratic Party to represent the interests of working people and take on big corporations and wealthy individuals.
Survey Methodology
From December 12 to 13, 2024, Data for Progress conducted a survey nationally of 656 likely Democratic voters andIndependent voters who lean towards Democrats using web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, geography, and recalled presidential vote. The survey wasconducted in English. The margin of error associated with the sample size is ±4 percentage points. Results for subgroupsof the sample are subject to increased margins of error. Partisanship reflected in tabulations is based on self-identifiedparty affiliation, not partisan registration. For more information please visit dataforprogress.org/our-methodology.