Young rural Americans face unique challenges that their urban counterparts often do not. Our mission is to bring a strong focus on rural American issues and ensure that rural America is well represented on the national stage. he Young Democrats of America (YDA) is the largest youth-led, national, partisan political organization. YDA mobilizes young people under the age of 36 to participate in the electoral process, influences the ideals of the Democratic Party, and develops the skills of the youth generation to serve as leaders at the local and national level. YDA has chartered chapters in 46 states and U.S. territories with over 1,500 local chapters. Our 150,000+ members – including middle school, high school and college students as well as young workers, young professionals and young families – reflects the broad diversity of our nation and the Democratic Party. Our programs engage Young Democrats through their local county, college, or high school chapters, through state and regional programming, and nationally through events like our national convention and issue advocacy work. The Young Democrats of America has been the official youth arm of the Democratic Party since 1932. Since 2002, YDA has operated independently of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) as a nonfederal 527 political organization.