Trying to end a controversy roiling the party, the Democratic National Committee is considering a significant rule change that would require party officers to remain neutral during primary elections — a move aimed squarely at vice chair and Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg.

The proposal, spearheaded by DNC Chairman Ken Martin, comes as younger progressives in the party such as Mr. Hogg are pushing to replace “asleep-at-the-wheel” Democratic incumbents with new leadership.

“No DNC officer should ever attempt to influence the outcome of a primary election whether on behalf of an incumbent or a challenger,” Mr. Martin said Thursday during a conference call. 

The proposed rule change coincides with heightened tensions stemming from the actions of Mr. Hogg, one of five vice chairman of the party. The 25-year-old Mr. Hogg, who gained national prominence as a survivor of the 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting and became a prominent gun control activist, has infuriated some veteran Democrats. Those Democrats want the party to focus on defeating Republicans, not members of their own party. 

Last week, Mr. Hogg’s organization, Leaders We Deserve, announced a $20 million initiative to target “ineffective, asleep at the wheel” Democratic incumbents in safe blue districts.

“We have a culture of seniority politics that has created a litmus test of who deserves to be here,” Mr. Hogg said. “We need people, regardless of their age, that are here to fight.”

“We have to win back those voters,” he added. “We have to show them how the party is changing, and how we are fighting for them — not just to say, ‘Don’t vote for Donald Trump,’ but to say, ‘Vote for us, because we are here to revive the American Dream.’”

If the new rule is approved during the DNC’s August meeting, Mr. Hogg would be required to resign from his DNC position or sever ties with the organization he co-founded.

The party chairman emphasized that the proposed change would strengthen trust between Democratic voters and the party. “This is not about shielding incumbents or boosting challengers. Voters should decide who primary nominees are,” Mr. Martin said.

Mr. Hogg said recently that he has no axe to grind with the party chairman. 

“There are disagreements in our party about the right way to approach this moment,” he told Politico. “What I will say about Chair Martin, even if we do have disagreements, he’s doing an excellent job of building and reforming our party.”

The internal discord comes at a challenging time for Democrats. A recent series of polls highlights growing disillusionment with party leadership. A Gallup survey conducted in April found that only 39 percent of Democrats expressed significant confidence in their party leaders’ ability to manage the economy, compared to 76 percent of Republicans who voiced confidence in their own leaders. 

Seeking to address concerns within the party, Mr. Martin also introduced an ambitious reform package called “Organize Everywhere, Win Anywhere.” The goal is to enhance grassroots operations by providing state parties with more consistent funding, enabling them to hire staff, train candidates, and implement long-term election strategies.

“I’m done with Democrats myopically focusing on just a few battleground states every few years. We are not simply a presidential campaign committee,” Mr. Martin said.