A selective network for ambitious students who want to build successful careers and help shape the future of the center-left.
The 1727 Network connects the pragmatic left's most ambitious students at top universities early, so they stay connected as their careers take off and help shape the future of the center-left.
Pragmatic means focused on what works: growth, competent government, getting things built. We prepare members to lead the party and the institutions around it, not just to volunteer for it.
Young people still vote against Republicans, but fewer and fewer of them identify as Democrats. On campus, pragmatic students don't see themselves in activist politics, and our most ambitious peers scatter into analyst classes, startups and labs, each alone.
Conservatives built the opposite: professional communities that keep young people connected in every sector, so they come back as candidates, appointees and leaders. Our bench is thin because nobody on the left is building it.
Democrats' margin with 18–29 voters, 2020 to 2024
of Gen Z identify as Democrats; 56% say independent
of 18–29s approve of congressional Democrats, down from 41% in 2018
Sources: AP VoteCast via CIRCLE (Tufts), Nov 2024; Gallup, Jan 2026; Harvard Youth Poll, Spring 2026.
We pick what works and weigh the evidence, whether the answer is public or private.
Members name a conservative they respect and work with them to get things done.
Rule of law, peaceful transfer of power, independent courts, a free press.
We host speakers we disagree with and argue in good faith.
Selective on drive, not pedigree. Events and ideas stay open to all.
Politics, business, law and tech all matter. We stay connected wherever people go.
Every dinner opens with "How can we help?" Members keep helping after graduation.
In twenty years, members shape more as partners, CEOs and officials than as students.
In 1727, a 21-year-old printer named Benjamin Franklin gathered a dozen ambitious young tradesmen in Philadelphia. They met every Friday to debate ideas, argue in good faith and help each other rise. They called it the Junto, or the Leather Apron Club.
Out of that small circle grew America's first subscription library in 1731, a volunteer fire company and, in 1743, the American Philosophical Society. A dozen high-agency people helped build a city's institutions.
Every Junto meeting opened with 24 standing questions. Our chapter dinners do the same.
In what manner can the Junto, or any of them, assist you in any of your honourable designs?Franklin's Standing Queries for the Junto, 1732
High-agency students who start things, lead things and ship things. They are socially liberal, pro-market and pro-growth, want government that works and are committed to liberal democracy.
They are headed into finance, technology, consulting, law, policy, startups, media and government. Independents and former Republicans who share these values are welcome.
Our founding cohort is forming now. Members are recommended by faculty, advisers and fellow students, then invited to interview.
Know an exceptional student? We'd be glad to hear from you.
Recommend a student