A Jefferson–Jackson Dinner is a title traditionally given to an annual fundraising celebration held by Democratic Party organizations in the United States. It is named for Presidents Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson, which the party traditionally calls its founders. They are usually held in February or March at a local level providing an opportunity for elected officials, candidates, party staff, advisors, and donors to attend. The Republican Party's equivalent is usually called a Lincoln Dinner, Reagan Dinner, or Lincoln–Reagan Dinner. Into the 1960s, state and local Democratic Parties across the country depended on well-attended Jefferson–Jackson Day dinners to provide their annual funding. Their financial importance has somewhat dimmed with the development of other political party funding strategies, although they still serve a function for social networking and conferences.

Change of name

Due to controversies over Jefferson's slaveholding and Jackson's policy toward Native Americans while in office, some Democratic Party organizations have been removing Jefferson and Jackson from the title of party fundraisers. The flow of the State Democratic Parties seeking to change the name of their iconic Jefferson-Jackson dinner is spurred by a desire to embrace a more modern identity. The usual argument made is that while Jefferson and Jackson were both great men and for a time embodied the spirit of the Democratic Party, they now fail to represent the breadth of change that has affected the Democratic Party and its current membership. Many state Democratic Parties have changed the traditional name. For example: The Republican party has similarly moved away from "Lincoln Dinners" due to American political realignment since the 1960s, especially in the Southern United States where culturally conservative White Southerners now tend to be Republicans, while Black voters now tend to be Democrats.