Democratic Party (United States): Difference between revisions

{{Short description|American political party}}

{{Use American English|date=December 2014}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2018}}

| name             = Democratic Party

| logo             = [[File:US Democratic Party Logo.svg|125px]]

| symbol           = [[File:Democratic Disc.svg|100px]]

| colorcode       = {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}<!-- Please DO NOT change or remove. Thank you. -->

| chairperson     = [[Jaime Harrison]] ([[South Carolina|SC]])

| leader1_title   = [[President of the United States|U.S. President]]

| leader1_name     = [[Joe Biden]] ([[Delaware|DE]])

| leader2_title   = [[Vice President of the United States|U.S. Vice President]]

| leader2_name     = [[Kamala Harris]] ([[California|CA]])

| leader3_title   = {{nowrap|[[Party leaders of the United States Senate|Senate Majority Leader]]}}

| leader3_name     = [[Chuck Schumer]] ([[New York (state)|NY]])

| leader4_title   = [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker of the House]]

| leader4_name     = [[Nancy Pelosi]] ([[California|CA]])

| leader5_title   = [[House Majority Leader]]

| leader5_name     = <!--Again, we know he's ranked below Pelosi in the House Democratic leadership. But he does have the title House Majority leader regardless, so please STOP deleting him-->[[Steny Hoyer]] ([[Maryland|MD]]){{efn|Pelosi is the House Democratic leader, as Speaker}}<!--(Again, we know he's ranked below Pelosi. But he's still titled House Majority leader, so please STOP deleting him-->

| founders         = {{plainlist|

* [[Andrew Jackson]]

* [[Martin Van Buren]]

| founded         = {{start date and age|1828|1|8}}<ref>{{cite book |title=Jacksonian Democracy in New Hampshire, 1800-1851 |last=Cole |first=Donald B. |date=1970 |publisher=Harvard University Press |page=69 |isbn=978-0-67-428368-8}}</ref><br />{{nowrap|[[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]], U.S.}}

| predecessor     = [[Democratic-Republican Party]]

| headquarters     = 430 [[South Capitol Street|South Capitol St.]] SE,<br />[[Washington, D.C.]], U.S.

| student_wing     = {{unbulleted list|[[High School Democrats of America]]|[[College Democrats of America]]}}

| youth_wing       = [[Young Democrats of America]]

| womens_wing     = [[National Federation of Democratic Women]]

| wing1_title     = Overseas wing

| wing1           = [[Democrats Abroad]]

| membership_year = 2021

| position         = <!--Longstanding consensus is not to include a political position here. Do not change without talk page consensus.-->

| membership       = {{decrease}} 47,019,985<ref>{{Cite web |last=Winger |first=Richard |title=December 2021 Ballot Access News Print Edition |url=https://ballot-access.org/2021/12/29/december-2021-ballot-access-news-print-edition/ |access-date=January 20, 2022 |website=Ballot Access News}}</ref>

| ideology         = {{unbulleted list|

  |{{•}} [[Modern liberalism in the United States|Modern liberalism]]<ref name="sarnold" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=June 29, 2012 |title=President Obama, the Democratic Party, and Socialism: A Political Science Perspective |work=The Huffington Post |url=https://huffingtonpost.com/benjamin-knoll/obama-romney-economy_b_1615862.html |access-date=January 9, 2015 |archive-date=March 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324035220/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/benjamin-knoll/obama-romney-economy_b_1615862.html |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Concise list of factions below. -->

  |{{•}} [[Third Way]]<ref name="jhale">{{Cite book |last=Hale |first=John |title=The Making of the New Democrats |publisher=[[Political Science Quarterly]] |year=1995 |location=New York |page=229}}</ref><ref name="DewanKornblut2006">{{Cite news |last1=Dewan |first1=Shaila |last2=Kornblut |first2=Anne E. |date=October 30, 2006 |title=In Key House Races, Democrats Run to the Right |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/30/us/politics/30dems.html |access-date=January 28, 2017 |archive-date=July 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190727021022/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/30/us/politics/30dems.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

  |{{•}} [[Progressivism in the United States|Progressivism]]<ref name="SteinCornwellTanfani2018">{{Cite news |last1=Stein |first1=Letita |last2=Cornwell |first2=Susan |last3 =Tanfani |first3 =Joseph |date=August 23, 2018 |title=Inside the progressive movement roiling the Democratic Party |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-progressives-specialrepo/inside-the-progressive-movement-roiling-the-democratic-party-idUSKCN1L81GI |access-date=June 13, 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220613163545/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-progressives-specialrepo/inside-the-progressive-movement-roiling-the-democratic-party-idUSKCN1L81GI|archive-date=June 13, 2022}}</ref>

|{{•}} [[Social democracy]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ball |first=Molly |title=The Battle Within the Democratic Party |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/12/the-battle-within-the-democratic-party/282235/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612142340/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/12/the-battle-within-the-democratic-party/282235/ |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |access-date=January 28, 2017 |website=[[The Atlantic]]}}</ref><ref name="How Socialist Is Bernie Sanders?">{{cite magazine |last1=Chotiner |first1=Isaac |title=How Socialist Is Bernie Sanders? |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-socialist-is-bernie-sanders |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |access-date=February 14, 2021 |language=en-us |date=March 2, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-six-wings-of-the-democratic-party/|title=The Six Wings Of The Democratic Party|first=Perry Jr.|last=Bacon|work = [[FiveThirtyEight]]|date=March 11, 2019}}</ref>

}}

| international   = <!--- Please do not re-insert "Progressive Alliance" unless you can find a reliable published source for the oft-repeated, never-documented assertion that the Democrats are part of the organization, other than a listing on that organization's website (see [[WP:SPS]]). --->

| colors           = {{color box|{{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}|border=darkgray}} [[Blue]]<!-- Please DO NOT change the HTML color formatting in this field or in any of the below fields. Thank you. -->

| seats1_title     = [[List of current United States senators|Seats]] in the [[United States Senate|Senate]]

| seats1           = <!--Keep at 48, as Bernie Sanders & Angus King are independents, who caucus with the Democrats-->{{composition bar|48|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}|ref={{Efn|There are 48 senators who are members of the party; however, two [[independent politician|independent]] senators, [[Angus King]] and [[Bernie Sanders]], caucus with the Democrats, effectively making a 50–50 split. [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] and Democratic Party member [[Kamala Harris]], in her role as President of the Senate, serves as the tie-breaking vote, thus giving the Democrats an effective majority.|name=|group=}}}}

| seats2_title     = [[List of current members of the United States House of Representatives|Seats]] in the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]]

| seats2           = {{composition bar|220|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| seats3_title     = [[List of current United States governors#State governors|State governorships]]

| seats3           = <!-- Don't change numbers until terms begin --> {{composition bar|22|50|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| seats4_title     = [[List of U.S. state senators|Seats]] in [[State legislature (United States)|state upper chambers]]

| seats4           = <!--Don't change numbers until terms begin--> {{composition bar|861|1972|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| seats5_title     = [[List of U.S. state representatives|Seats]] in [[State legislature (United States)|state lower chambers]]

| seats5           = <!--Don't change numbers until terms begin--> {{composition bar|2432|5411|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| seats6_title     = [[List of current United States governors#Territory governors|Territorial governorships]]

| seats6           = <!--Don't change numbers until terms begin--> {{composition bar|3|5|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| seats7_title     = Seats in [[Territories of the United States#Governments and legislatures|territorial upper chambers]]

| seats7           = <!--Don't change numbers until terms begin--> {{composition bar|31|97|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| seats8_title     = Seats in [[Territories of the United States#Governments and legislatures|territorial lower chambers]]

| seats8           = <!--Don't change numbers until terms begin--> {{composition bar|8|91|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| website          = {{Official URL}}

| country         = United States

The '''Democratic Party''' is one of the [[Two-party system|two]] [[Major party|major]] contemporary [[political parties in the United States]]. It was founded in 1828 by supporters of [[Andrew Jackson]], making it the world's oldest active political party.<ref>"The Democratic Party, founded in 1828, is the world's oldest political party" states {{Cite book |last1=Kenneth Janda |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t_lC8k3SELMC&pg=PA276 |title=The Challenge of Democracy: American Government in Global Politics |last2=Jeffrey M. Berry |last3=Jerry Goldman |publisher=Cengage Learning |year=2010 |isbn=9780495906186 |page=276}}</ref> Since the 1860s, its main political rival has been the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]].

Before 1860, the Democratic Party supported [[limited government]] and [[States' rights|state sovereignty]] while opposing a national bank and high tariffs. It split in 1860 over [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]] and won the presidency only twice between 1860 and 1910. In the late 19th century, it continued to oppose high tariffs and had fierce internal debates on the [[gold standard]]. In the early 20th century, it supported [[Progressivism in the United States|progressive]] reforms and opposed [[American imperialism|imperialism]], with [[Woodrow Wilson]] winning the White House in [[1912 United States presidential election|1912]] and [[1916 United States presidential election|1916]]. Since [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] and his [[New Deal coalition]] after 1932, the Democratic Party has promoted a [[Social liberalism|socially liberal]] platform.<ref name="sarnold">{{cite book|last=Arnold|first=N. Scott|title=Imposing values: an essay on liberalism and regulation|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2009|page=3|isbn=9780495501121|quote=Modern liberalism occupies the left-of-center in the traditional political spectrum and is represented by the Democratic Party in the United States.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xGNRRwkZFysC|access-date=April 28, 2020|archive-date=October 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201002180929/https://books.google.com/books?id=xGNRRwkZFysC&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="egrigsby">{{cite book|last=Grigsby|first=Ellen|title=Analyzing Politics: An Introduction to Political Science|publisher=Cengage Learning|year=2008|pages=106–107|isbn=9780495501121|quote=In the United States, the Democratic Party represents itself as the liberal alternative to the Republicans, but its liberalism is for the most part the later version of liberalism—modern liberalism.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xGNRRwkZFysC|access-date=April 28, 2020|archive-date=October 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201002180930/https://books.google.com/books?id=xGNRRwkZFysC&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[New Deal]] attracted strong support for the party from recent European immigrants, many of whom were [[Catholic Church in the United States|Catholics]] based in the cities, but caused a decline of the party's conservative pro-business wing.<ref>{{cite book|last=Prendergast|first=William B.|date=1999|title=The Catholic Voter in American Politics: The Passing of the Democratic Monolith |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Georgetown University |isbn=978-0-87840-724-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B9nFwo5B1BQC}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Marlin|first=George J.|date=2004|title=The American Catholic Voter: 200 Years of Political Impact|location=South Bend, Indiana|publisher=St. Augustine|isbn=978-1-58731-029-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MBc6PgAACAAJ|access-date=April 28, 2020|archive-date=October 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201002180931/https://books.google.com/books?id=MBc6PgAACAAJ&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Michael Corbett et al. ''Politics and Religion in the United States'' (2nd ed. 2013).</ref> Following the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] and the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]], the core bases of the two parties shifted, with the [[Southern strategy|Southern states]] becoming more reliably Republican in presidential politics and the Northeastern states becoming more reliably Democratic. The once-powerful [[Labor unions in the United States|labor union]] element became smaller after the 1970s, though the working class remains an important component of the Democratic base. Women, people with post graduate degrees, people living in [[List of United States cities by population|urban areas]], younger Americans, as well as most [[sexual minority|sexual]], [[Religion in the United States|religious]], and [[Race and ethnicity in the United States|racial minorities]], also tend to support the Democratic Party.<ref name = "trends">{{cite web|url=http://www.people-press.org/2018/03/20/1-trends-in-party-affiliation-among-demographic-groups/|title=1. Trends in party affiliation among demographic groups|publisher=Pew Research Center|date=2018-03-20|language=en-US |df=mdy-all|access-date=2018-12-29|archive-date=June 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605002725/https://www.people-press.org/2018/03/20/1-trends-in-party-affiliation-among-demographic-groups/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://prospect.org/article/how-asian-americans-became-democrats-0|title=How Asian Americans Became Democrats|newspaper=The American Prospect |df=mdy-all|access-date=2016-10-22|archive-date=September 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926082258/http://prospect.org/article/how-asian-americans-became-democrats-0|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/21/politics/house-democrats-united-vote-urban-suburban-districts/index.html|title=The Democratic Party is being transformed. These House votes show how.|last=Brownstein|first=Ronald|date=May 21, 2019|publisher=[[CNN]]|access-date=May 22, 2019|archive-date=May 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190521153450/https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/21/politics/house-democrats-united-vote-urban-suburban-districts/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=gallup2010/>

The Democratic Party's philosophy of [[Modern liberalism in the United States|modern liberalism]] blends notions of [[civil liberties|civil liberty]] and [[social equality]] with support for a [[mixed economy]].<ref name="Larry E. Sullivan 2009 p 291">Larry E. Sullivan. ''The SAGE glossary of the social and behavioral sciences'' (2009). p. 291: "This liberalism favors a generous welfare state and a greater measure of social and economic equality. Liberty thus exists when all citizens have access to basic necessities such as education, healthcare, and economic opportunities."</ref> In [[United States Congress|Congress]], the party is a [[Big tent|big-tent]] coalition with influential [[New Democrat Coalition|centrist]], [[Congressional Progressive Caucus|progressive]], and [[Blue Dog Coalition|conservative]] wings.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Allott|first=Daniel|date=2020-11-14|title=Biden could lose Georgia Senate races all by himself|url=https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/525973-biden-could-lose-georgia-senate-races-all-by-himself|access-date=2020-11-16|website=The Hill|language=en}}</ref> [[Corporate governance]] reform, [[environmental protection]], support for [[Trade union|organized labor]], expansion of [[Social programs in the United States|social programs]], affordable [[College tuition in the United States|college tuition]], [[Healthcare reform in the United States|health care reform]],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Goodnough |first1=Abby |last2=Kaplan |first2=Thomas |title=Democrat vs. Democrat: How Health Care Is Dividing the Party |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/28/health/democratic-debate-healthcare.html |website=The New York Times |date=June 28, 2019 |access-date=22 July 2020}}</ref> [[equal opportunity]], and [[consumer protection]] form the core of the party's economic agenda.<ref name="jlevy">{{cite book |last=Levy|first=Jonah|title=The State after Statism: New State Activities in the Age of Liberalization|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=2006|page=198|isbn=9780495501121|quote=In the corporate governance area, the center-left repositioned itself to press for reform. The Democratic Party in the United States used the postbubble scandals and the collapse of share prices to attack the Republican Party&nbsp;... Corporate governance reform fit surprisingly well within the contours of the center-left ideology. The Democratic Party and the SPD have both been committed to the development of the regulatory state as a counterweight to managerial authority, corporate power, and market failure.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xGNRRwkZFysC}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://economics.about.com/od/howtheuseconomyworks/a/mixed_economy.htm|title=A Mixed Economy: The Role of the Market|author=[[U.S. Department of State]]|publisher=[[About.com]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118100105/http://economics.about.com/od/howtheuseconomyworks/a/mixed_economy.htm|archive-date=January 18, 2017}}</ref> On social issues, it advocates [[Campaign finance reform in the United States|campaign finance reform]],<ref name="ontheissues.org" /> [[LGBT rights in the United States|LGBT rights]],<ref name=":0" /> [[Criminal justice reform in the United States|criminal justice]] and [[Immigration reform in the United States|immigration reform]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.themarshallproject.org/2016/07/18/two-parties-two-platforms-on-criminal-justice|title=Two Parties, Two Platforms on Criminal Justice|last=Chammah|first=Maurice|date=July 18, 2016|publisher=[[The Marshall Project]]|access-date=May 22, 2019|archive-date=May 31, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531162731/https://www.themarshallproject.org/2016/07/18/two-parties-two-platforms-on-criminal-justice|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Gun politics in the United States|stricter gun laws]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://democrats.org/issues/preventing-gun-violence/|title=Preventing Gun Violence|publisher=Democrats.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181104232429/https://democrats.org/issues/preventing-gun-violence/ |df=mdy-all|archive-date=2018-11-04|url-status=dead|access-date=May 22, 2019}}</ref> [[abortion rights]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ontheissues.org/celeb/Democratic_Party_Abortion.htm|title=Democratic Party on Abortion|publisher=OnTheIssues.org|access-date=August 5, 2020|archive-date=September 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200911161207/https://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/Democratic_Party_Abortion.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> the abolition of [[Capital punishment in the United States|capital punishment]],<ref>{{cite web |title=PROTECTING COMMUNITIES AND BUILDING TRUST BY REFORMING OUR CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM |url=https://democrats.org/where-we-stand/party-platform/protecting-communities-and-building-trust-by-reforming-our-criminal-justice-system/ |publisher=Democratic Party |access-date=30 November 2021}}</ref> and [[Drug policy reform|drug reform]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://democrats.org/about/party-platform/ |title=The 2016 Democratic Platform |publisher=Democrats.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180927085530/https://democrats.org/about/party-platform/ |df=mdy-all|archive-date=2018-09-27|url-status=dead|access-date=May 22, 2019}}</ref>

Including the incumbent, [[Joe Biden]], 16 Democrats have served as [[President of the United States]]. As of 2022, the party holds a federal [[government trifecta]] (the presidency and majorities in both the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House]] and the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]]), as well as 22 [[List of United States governors|state governorships]], 17 [[List of United States state legislatures|state legislatures]], and 14 state government trifectas (the governorship and both legislative chambers).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ballotpedia.org/State_government_trifectas|title=State government trifectas |publisher=Ballotpedia |access-date=January 13, 2018|archive-date=March 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328215337/https://ballotpedia.org/State_government_trifectas|url-status=live}}</ref> Three of the nine justices on the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] were appointed by Democratic presidents. By registered members (in those states which permit or require [[voter registration in the United States#Party affiliation|registration by party affiliation]]), the Democratic Party is the largest party in the United States and the [[List of largest political parties|third largest in the world]].<ref name="sarnold" />

[[File:Andrew jackson head.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Andrew Jackson]] was the [[List of presidents of the United States|seventh president of the United States]] (1829–1837) and the [[History of the United States Democratic Party|first Democratic]] [[President of the United States|president]].]]

 

Democratic Party officials often trace its origins to the [[Democratic-Republican Party]], founded by [[Thomas Jefferson]], [[James Madison]] and other influential opponents of the [[Federalist Party|Federalists]] in 1792.<ref>The party has claimed a founding date of 1792 as noted in S.2047 which passed in the United States Senate in 1991. {{citation|title= S.2047 – A bill to establish a commission to commemorate the bicentennial of the establishment of the Democratic Party of the United States.|author= 102nd Congress|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/102nd-congress/senate-bill/2047/text?r=90&s=1|year=1991}} “[I]n 1992, the Democratic Party of the United States will celebrate the 200th anniversary of its establishment on May 13, 1792.”</ref> That party died out before the modern Democratic Party was organized; the Jeffersonian party also inspired the [[Whig Party (United States)|Whigs]] and modern Republicans. Historians argue that the modern Democratic Party was first organized in the late 1820s with the election of [[Andrew Jackson]].<ref>Michael Kazin, ''What It Took to Win: A History of the Democratic Party'' (2022) pp 5, 12.</ref>

Since the nomination of [[William Jennings Bryan]] in 1896, the party has generally positioned itself to the [[Left-wing politics|left]] of the Republican Party on economic issues. Democrats have been more liberal on civil rights since 1948, although conservative factions within the Democratic Party that opposed them persisted in the South until the 1960s. On foreign policy, both parties have changed positions several times.<ref>Arthur Paulson, ''Realignment and Party Revival: Understanding American Electoral Politics at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century'' (2000) pp. 46–72.</ref>

The Democratic Party evolved from the [[Jeffersonian Republican]] or [[Democratic-Republican Party]] organized by Jefferson and Madison in opposition to the Federalist Party. The Democratic-Republican Party favored [[Republicanism in the United States|republicanism]]; a weak [[Federal government of the United States|federal government]]; [[states' rights]]; agrarian interests (especially Southern planters); and strict adherence to the [[Constitution]]. The party opposed a national bank and [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]].<ref>James Roger Sharp, ''American Politics in the Early Republic: The New Nation in Crisis'' (1993).</ref> After the [[War of 1812]], the Federalists virtually disappeared and the only national political party left was the Democratic-Republicans, which was prone to splinter along regional lines. The era of one-party rule in the United States, known as the [[Era of Good Feelings]], lasted from 1816 until 1828, when Andrew Jackson became president. Jackson and Martin Van Buren worked with allies in each state to form a new Democratic Party on a national basis. In the 1830s, the [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig Party]] coalesced into the main rival to the Democrats.

[[File:Martin Van Buren by Mathew Brady c1855-58.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.7|[[Martin Van Buren]] was the [[List of presidents of the United States|eighth president of the United States]] (1837–1841) and the [[History of the United States Democratic Party|second Democratic]] [[President of the United States|president]].]]

The Democratic-Republican Party split over the choice of a successor to President [[James Monroe]]. The faction that supported many of the old [[Jeffersonian democracy|Jeffersonian principles]], led by Andrew Jackson and [[Martin Van Buren]], became the modern Democratic Party.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Traub |first1=James |title=The Ugly Election That Birthed Modern American Politics |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2016/11-12/america-presidential-elections-1824-corrupt-bargain/ |magazine=National Geographic |access-date=July 6, 2018 |archive-date=July 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707010137/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2016/11-12/america-presidential-elections-1824-corrupt-bargain/ |url-status=live}}</ref> As Norton explains the transformation in 1828: {{blockquote|Jacksonians believed the people's will had finally prevailed. Through a lavishly financed coalition of state parties, political leaders, and newspaper editors, a popular movement had elected the president. The Democrats became the nation's first well-organized national party ... and tight party organization became the hallmark of nineteenth-century American politics.<ref>Mary Beth Norton et al., ''A People and a Nation, Volume I: to 1877'' (Houghton Mifflin, 2007) p. 287.</ref>|sign=|source=}}

Behind the platforms issued by state and national parties stood a widely shared political outlook that characterized the Democrats: {{blockquote|The Democrats represented a wide range of views but shared a fundamental commitment to the Jeffersonian concept of an agrarian society. They viewed the central government as the enemy of individual liberty. The [[Corrupt bargain#Election of 1824|1824 "corrupt bargain"]] had strengthened their suspicion of Washington politics. ... Jacksonians feared the concentration of economic and political power. They believed that government intervention in the economy benefited special-interest groups and created corporate monopolies that favored the rich. They sought to restore the independence of the individual—the artisan and the ordinary farmer—by ending federal support of banks and corporations and restricting the use of paper currency, which they distrusted. Their definition of the proper role of government tended to be negative, and Jackson's political power was largely expressed in negative acts. He exercised the veto more than all previous presidents combined. Jackson and his supporters also opposed reform as a movement. Reformers eager to turn their programs into legislation called for a more active government. But Democrats tended to oppose programs like educational reform mid the establishment of a public education system. They believed, for instance, that public schools restricted individual liberty by interfering with parental responsibility and undermined freedom of religion by replacing church schools. Nor did Jackson share reformers' humanitarian concerns. He had no sympathy for American Indians, initiating the removal of the Cherokees along the Trail of Tears.<ref>Mary Beth Norton et al., ''A People and a Nation, Volume I: to 1877'' (2007) pp. 287–288.</ref>|sign=|source=}}

The Democrats split over slavery, with Northern and Southern tickets in the [[1860 United States presidential election|election of 1860]], in which the Republican Party gained ascendancy.<ref>Jean H. Baker, ''Affairs of Party: Political Culture of Northern Democrats in the Mid-nineteenth Century'' (1983)</ref> The radical pro-slavery [[Fire-Eaters]] led walkouts at the two conventions when the delegates would not adopt a resolution supporting the extension of slavery into territories even if the voters of those territories did not want it. These [[1860 United States presidential election#Constitutional (Southern) Democratic|Southern Democrats]] nominated the pro-slavery incumbent [[Vice President of the United States|vice president]], [[John C. Breckinridge]] of Kentucky, for [[President of the United States|president]] and General [[Joseph Lane]], of Oregon, for vice president. The [[1860 United States presidential election#National (Northern) Democratic|Northern Democrats]] nominated Senator [[Stephen A. Douglas]] of Illinois for president and former Georgia Governor [[Herschel Vespasian Johnson|Herschel V. Johnson]] for vice president. This fracturing of the Democrats led to a Republican victory and [[Abraham Lincoln]] was elected the 16th president of the United States.<ref name="auto">David M. Potter. ''The Impending Crisis, 1848–1861'' (1976). ch. 16.</ref>

[[File:Cleveland Inauguration 1885.jpg|thumb|left|The [[First inauguration of Grover Cleveland|1885 inauguration]] of [[Grover Cleveland]], the only president with non-consecutive terms]]

The Democrats took control of the House in 1910, and [[Woodrow Wilson]] won election as president in 1912 (when the Republicans split) and 1916. Wilson effectively led Congress to put to rest the issues of tariffs, money, and antitrust, which had dominated politics for 40 years, with new progressive laws. He failed to secure Senate passage of the [[Versailles Treaty]] (ending the war with Germany and joining the League of Nations).<ref>H.W. Brands, ''Woodrow Wilson'' (2003).</ref> The weak party was deeply divided by issues such as the KKK and prohibition in the 1920s. However, it did organize new ethnic voters in Northern cities.<ref>Douglas B. Craig, ''After Wilson: The Struggle for the Democratic Party, 1920-1934'' (1993)</ref>

[[File:RooseveltTruman1944poster.jpg|thumb|left|[[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] and [[Harry S. Truman]], 32nd and 33rd presidents of the United States (1933–1945; 1945–1953), featured on a campaign poster for the [[1944 United States presidential election|1944 presidential election]]]]

Issues facing parties and the United States after World War II included the [[Cold War]] and the [[civil rights movement]]. Republicans attracted conservatives and, after the 1960s, white Southerners from the Democratic coalition with their use of the [[Southern strategy]] and resistance to New Deal and [[Great Society]] liberalism. Until the 1950s, African Americans had traditionally supported the Republican Party because of its anti-slavery civil rights policies. Following the passage of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] and [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]], the Southern states became more reliably Republican in presidential politics, while Northeastern states became more reliably Democratic.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300077230/race-campaign-politics-and-realignment-south|title=Race, Campaign Politics, and the Realignment in the South|website=yalebooks.yale.edu|access-date=June 9, 2018|archive-date=June 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190605173805/https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300077230/race-campaign-politics-and-realignment-south|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Regional Variations in the Realignment of American Politics, 1944–2004">{{cite journal|last1=Bullock|first1=Charles S.|last2=Hoffman|first2=Donna R.|last3=Gaddie|first3=Ronald Keith|date=2006|title=Regional Variations in the Realignment of American Politics, 1944–2004|journal=Social Science Quarterly|volume=87|issue=3|pages=494–518|doi=10.1111/j.1540-6237.2006.00393.x|issn=0038-4941|quote=The events of 1964 laid open the divisions between the South and national Democrats and elicited distinctly different voter behavior in the two regions. The agitation for civil rights by southern blacks continued white violence toward the civil rights movement, and President Lyndon Johnson's aggressive leadership all facilitated passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. ... In the South, 1964 should be associated with GOP growth while in the Northeast this election contributed to the eradication of Republicans.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Gaddie|first=Ronald Keith|date=February 17, 2012|title=Realignment|url=http://oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195381948.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780195381948-e-13|journal=Oxford Handbooks Online|doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195381948.013.0013|access-date=June 9, 2018|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612141820/http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195381948.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780195381948-e-13|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Stanley|first=Harold W.|date=1988|title=Southern Partisan Changes: Dealignment, Realignment or Both?|journal=The Journal of Politics|volume=50|issue=1|pages=64–88|doi=10.2307/2131041|issn=0022-3816|quote=Events surrounding the presidential election of 1964 marked a watershed in terms of the parties and the South (Pomper, 1972). The Solid South was built around the identification of the Democratic party with the cause of white supremacy. Events before 1964 gave white southerners pause about the linkage between the Democratic Party and white supremacy, but the 1964 election, passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 altered in the minds of most the positions of the national parties on racial issues.|jstor=2131041|s2cid=154860857}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Miller|first1=Gary|last2=Schofield|first2=Norman|year=2008|title=The Transformation of the Republican and Democratic Party Coalitions in the U.S.|journal=Perspectives on Politics|volume=6|issue=3|pages=433–50|doi=10.1017/S1537592708081218|s2cid=145321253|issn=1541-0986|quote=1964 was the last presidential election in which the Democrats earned more than 50 percent of the white vote in the United States.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674012486|title=The Rise of Southern Republicans – Earl Black, Merle Black|website=hup.harvard.edu|publisher=Harvard University Press|access-date=June 9, 2018|quote=When the Republican party nominated Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater—one of the few senators who had opposed the Civil Rights Act—as their presidential candidate in 1964, the party attracted many southern whites but permanently alienated African-American voters. Beginning with the Goldwater-versus-Johnson campaign more southern whites voted Republican than Democratic, a pattern that has recurred in every subsequent presidential election. ... Before the 1964 presidential election the Republican party had not carried any Deep South state for eighty-eight years. Yet shortly after Congress passed the Civil Rights Act, hundreds of Deep South counties gave Barry Goldwater landslide majorities.|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612135934/http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674012486|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Issue Evolution">{{cite book|url=https://press.princeton.edu/titles/4385.html|title=Issue Evolution|date=September 6, 1990|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=9780691023311|access-date=June 9, 2018|archive-date=May 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516081536/https://press.princeton.edu/titles/4385.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Miller|first1=Gary|last2=Schofield|first2=Norman|year=2003|title=Activists and Partisan Realignment in the United States|journal=American Political Science Review|volume=97|issue=2|pages=245–60|doi=10.1017/S0003055403000650|s2cid=12885628|issn=1537-5943|quote=By 2000, however, the New Deal party alignment no longer captured patterns of partisan voting. In the intervening 40 years, the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts had triggered an increasingly race-driven distinction between the parties. ... Goldwater won the electoral votes of five states of the Deep South in 1964, four of the states that had voted Democratic for 84 years (Califano 1991, 55). He forged a new identification of the Republican party with racial conservatism, reversing a century-long association of the GOP with racial liberalism. This, in turn, opened the door for Nixon's "Southern strategy" and the Reagan victories of the eighties.}}</ref> Studies show that Southern whites, which were a core constituency in the Democratic Party, shifted to the Republican Party due to racial conservatism.<ref name="Issue Evolution" /><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Valentino|first1=Nicholas A.|last2=Sears|first2=David O.|author-link2=David O. Sears|year=2005|title=Old Times There Are Not Forgotten: Race and Partisan Realignment in the Contemporary South|journal=American Journal of Political Science|volume=49|issue=3|pages=672–88|doi=10.1111/j.1540-5907.2005.00136.x|issn=0092-5853|author-link1=Nicholas Valentino}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first1=Ilyana|last1=Kuziemko|first2=Ebonya|last2=Washington|title=Why Did the Democrats Lose the South? Bringing New Data to an Old Debate|journal=American Economic Review|year=2018|volume=108|issue=10|pages=2830–2867|doi=10.1257/aer.20161413|issn=0002-8282|doi-access=free}}</ref>

The election of President [[John F. Kennedy]] from Massachusetts in 1960 partially reflected this shift. In the campaign, Kennedy attracted a new generation of younger voters. In his agenda dubbed the [[New Frontier]], Kennedy introduced a host of social programs and public works projects, along with enhanced support of the [[NASA|space program]], proposing a crewed spacecraft [[Apollo 11|trip to the moon]] by the end of the decade. He pushed for civil rights initiatives and proposed the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]], but with his [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|assassination]] in November 1963, he was not able to see its passage.<ref>James T. Patterson, ''Grand Expectations: The United States, 1945-1974'' (1997).</ref>

[[File:President Kennedy and Vice President Johnson prior to ceremony.jpg|thumb|left|[[John F. Kennedy]] and [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], 35th and 36th presidents of the United States (1961–1963, 1963–1969)]]

Kennedy's successor [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] was able to persuade the largely conservative Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and with a more progressive Congress in 1965 passed much of the [[Great Society]], which consisted of an array of social programs designed to help the poor. Kennedy and Johnson's advocacy of civil rights further solidified black support for the Democrats but had the effect of alienating Southern whites who would eventually gravitate toward the Republican Party, particularly after the election of [[Ronald Reagan]] to the presidency in 1980. The United States' involvement in the [[Vietnam War]] in the 1960s was another divisive issue that further fractured the fault lines of the Democrats' coalition. After the [[Gulf of Tonkin Resolution]] in 1964, President Johnson committed a large contingency of combat troops to Vietnam, but the escalation failed to drive the [[Viet Cong]] from South Vietnam, resulting in an increasing [[Quagmire theory|quagmire]], which by 1968 had become the subject of widespread anti-war protests in the United States and elsewhere. With increasing casualties and nightly news reports bringing home troubling images from Vietnam, the costly military engagement became increasingly unpopular, alienating many of the kinds of young voters that the Democrats had attracted in the early 1960s. The protests that year along with assassinations of [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] and Democratic presidential candidate Senator [[Robert F. Kennedy]] (younger brother of John F. Kennedy) climaxed in turbulence at the hotly-contested [[1968 Democratic National Convention|Democratic National Convention]] that summer in Chicago (which amongst the ensuing turmoil inside and outside of the convention hall nominated Vice President [[Hubert Humphrey]]) in a series of events that proved to mark a significant turning point in the decline of the Democratic Party's broad coalition.<ref>Patterson, ''Grand Expectations: The United States, 1945-1974'' (1997).</ref>

[[File:Jimmy Carter presents his State of the Union Speech to Congress. - NARA - 183085.tif|thumb|right|[[Jimmy Carter]], 39th president of the United States (1977–1981), delivering the State of the Union Address in 1979]]

[[File:Defense.gov News Photo 980217-D-9880W-016.jpg|thumb|left|[[Bill Clinton]], 42nd president of the United States (1993–2001), at [[The Pentagon]] in 1998]]

With the ascendancy of the Republicans under Ronald Reagan, the Democrats searched for ways to respond yet were unable to succeed by running traditional candidates, such as former vice president and Democratic presidential nominee [[Walter Mondale]], who lost to Reagan in the 1984 presidential election. Many Democrats attached their hopes to the future star of [[Gary Hart]], who had challenged Mondale in the 1984 primaries running on a theme of "New Ideas"; and in the subsequent 1988 primaries became the de facto front-runner and virtual "shoo-in" for the Democratic presidential nomination before a sex scandal ended his campaign. The party nevertheless began to seek out a younger generation of leaders, who like Hart had been inspired by the pragmatic idealism of John F. Kennedy.<ref>James T. Patterson, ''Restless Giant: The United States from Watergate to Bush v. Gore'' (2011).</ref>

|width1=158

|width2=163

|footer=[[Barack Obama]] and [[Joe Biden]], 44th and 46th presidents of the United States (2009–2017, 2021–''present'').

In the wake of the 2001 [[September 11 attacks|terrorist attacks]] on the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] and [[the Pentagon]] as well as the growing concern over [[global warming]], some of the party's key issues in the early 21st century have included combating [[terrorism]] while preserving [[human rights]], expanding access to [[health care]], [[labor rights]], and environmental protection. Democrats regained majority control of both the House and the Senate in the [[United States general elections, 2006|2006 elections]]. [[Barack Obama]] won the Democratic Party's nomination and was elected as the first [[African American]] president in 2008. Under the Obama presidency, the party moved forward reforms including an [[American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009|economic stimulus]] package, the [[Dodd-Frank Act|Dodd–Frank]] financial reform act, and the [[Affordable Care Act]]. In the [[2010 United States elections|2010 midterm elections]], the Democratic Party lost control of the House and lost its majority in state legislatures and state governorships. In the [[2012 United States presidential election|2012 elections]], President Obama was re-elected, but the party remained in the minority in the House of Representatives and lost control of the Senate in the [[2014 United States elections|2014 midterm elections]]. After the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 election]] of [[Donald Trump]], the Democratic Party transitioned into the role of an opposition party and held neither the presidency nor the Senate but won back a majority in the House in the [[2018 United States House of Representatives elections|2018 midterm elections]].<ref>Rutland, ''The Democrats: From Jefferson to Clinton'' (1995) ch 8</ref> Democrats were extremely critical of President Trump, particularly his policies on immigration, healthcare, and abortion, as well as his response to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{cite news|last=York|first=David Smith Molly Redden in New|date=2016-04-01|title=Donald Trump's abortion remarks provoke biggest crisis of his campaign|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/mar/31/donald-trump-abortion-remarks-biggest-campaign-crisis |df=mdy-all|access-date=2020-06-29|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=July 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729191734/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/mar/31/donald-trump-abortion-remarks-biggest-campaign-crisis|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=McCormick|first=Stephanie Armour and John|date=2020-03-14|title=Democrats Sharpen Criticism of Trump's Health-Care Policy in Coronavirus Pandemic|language=en-US|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/democrats-sharpen-criticism-of-trumps-health-care-policy-in-coronavirus-pandemic-11584195089 |df=mdy-all|access-date=2020-06-29|issn=0099-9660|archive-date=July 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729182405/https://www.wsj.com/articles/democrats-sharpen-criticism-of-trumps-health-care-policy-in-coronavirus-pandemic-11584195089|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Trump WHO decision draws criticism from Democrats in US Congress|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/trump-decision-draws-criticism-democrats-congress-200415184644345.html |df=mdy-all|access-date=2020-06-29|website=www.aljazeera.com|archive-date=July 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729193902/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/trump-decision-draws-criticism-democrats-congress-200415184644345.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Based on a poll conducted in 2014, [[The Gallup Organization|Gallup]] found that 30% of Americans identified as Democrats, 23% as Republicans, and 45% as [[Independent voter|independents]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/15370/party-affiliation.aspx|title=Party Affiliation &#124; Gallup Historical Trends|date=September 20, 2007|publisher=Gallup.com|access-date=March 18, 2014|archive-date=March 18, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140318032559/http://www.gallup.com/poll/15370/party-affiliation.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> In the same poll, a survey of registered voters stated that 47% identified as Democrats or leaned toward the party compared to 40% of registered voters who identified as or leaned toward the Republicans.

In 2018, Democratic [[United States Congress|congressional]] candidate [[Tom Malinowski]], who was later elected, described the party:{{promotional inline|date=June 2022}}

{{Blockquote|We're now the party of fiscal responsibility in America. We didn't just add $2 trillion to the national debt for that tax cut that Warren Buffett didn't want{{nbsp}}... We're the party of law enforcement in America; we don't vilify the Federal Bureau of Investigation every single day. We're the party of family values. We don't{{nbsp}}... take kids from their parents at the border. We're the party of patriotism in America that wants to defend this country against our foreign adversaries.|Tom Malinowski in July 2018<ref name=twsWashPost0786>{{cite news|first1=E. J.|last1=Dionne|date=July 15, 2018|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/does-the-blue-wave-start-in-jersey/2018/07/15/db44a0b2-86e4-11e8-8f6c-46cb43e3f306_story.html|title=Does the blue wave start in Jersey?|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716011710/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/does-the-blue-wave-start-in-jersey/2018/07/15/db44a0b2-86e4-11e8-8f6c-46cb43e3f306_story.html |archive-date=July 16, 2018|access-date=July 16, 2018}}</ref>}} In November 2020, Democrat [[Joe Biden]] won the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 presidential election]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-11-07|title=Biden defeats Trump for White House, says 'time to heal'|url=https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-wins-white-house-ap-fd58df73aa677acb74fce2a69adb71f9|access-date=2020-11-07|website=AP NEWS}}</ref> He began his term with narrow Democratic majorities in the House and the Senate.<ref>{{cite news |title=Georgia Highlights: Democrats Win the Senate as Ossoff Defeats Perdue |url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/06/us/georgia-election-results |website=The New York Times |date=January 6, 2021 |access-date=11 January 2021|last1=Martin |first1=Jonathan |last2=Fausset |first2=Richard |last3=Epstein |first3=Reid J. }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=U.S. House Election Results|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/03/us/elections/results-house.html|access-date=2021-02-08|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

The [[Democratic-Republican Party]] splintered in 1824 into the short-lived [[National Republican Party]] and the Jacksonian movement which in 1828 became the Democratic Party. Under the Jacksonian era, the term "The Democracy" was in use by the party, but the name "Democratic Party" was eventually settled upon<ref>{{cite book|author=Appleby, Joyce|title=Thomas Jefferson|year=2003|page=4|isbn=978-0-521-64841-7|author-link=Joyce Appleby|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6rOu3WYEiiQC|access-date=April 28, 2020|archive-date=October 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201002180948/https://books.google.com/books?id=6rOu3WYEiiQC&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref> and became the official name in 1844.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/157244/Democratic-Party/308570/Slavery-and-the-emergence-of-the-bipartisan-system|title=Democratic Party|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=January 19, 2015|archive-date=February 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217133844/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/157244/Democratic-Party/308570/Slavery-and-the-emergence-of-the-bipartisan-system|url-status=live}}</ref> Members of the party are called "Democrats" or "Dems".

The term [[Democrat Party (epithet)|"Democrat Party"]] has also been in local use but has usually been used by opponents since 1952 as a disparaging term.

Although both major political parties (and many minor ones) use the traditional American colors of red, white, and blue in their marketing and representations, since [[2000 United States presidential election|election night 2000]] blue has become the identifying color for the Democratic Party while red has become the identifying color for the Republican Party. That night, for the first time all major broadcast television networks used the same color scheme for the electoral map: [[Red states and blue states|blue states]] for [[Al Gore]] (Democratic nominee) and red states for [[George W. Bush]] (Republican nominee). Since then, the color blue has been widely used by the media to represent the party. This is contrary to common practice outside of the United States where blue is the traditional color of the [[right-wing politics|right]] and red the color of the [[left-wing politics|left]].<ref name="WP Nov 2004">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17079-2004Nov1.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509144731/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17079-2004Nov1.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 9, 2008|title=Elephants Are Red, Donkeys Are Blue|last=Farhi|first=Paul|date=November 2, 2004|newspaper=Washington Post|page=C01|access-date=October 11, 2016}}</ref> For example, in Canada red represents the [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberals]] while blue represents the [[Conservative Party of Canada|Conservatives]]. In the United Kingdom, red denotes the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] and blue symbolizes the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]]. Any use of the color blue to denote the Democratic Party prior to 2000 would be historically inaccurate and misleading. Since 2000, blue has also been used both by party supporters for promotional efforts—[[ActBlue]], BuyBlue and BlueFund as examples—and by the party itself in 2006 both for its "Red to Blue Program", created to support Democratic candidates running against Republican incumbents in the [[United States general elections, 2006|midterm elections]] that year and on its official website.

Each state also has a state committee, made up of elected committee members as well as ex officio committee members (usually elected officials and representatives of major constituencies), which in turn elects a chair. County, town, city, and ward committees generally are composed of individuals elected at the local level. State and local committees often coordinate campaign activities within their jurisdiction, oversee local conventions, and in some cases primaries or caucuses, and may have a role in nominating candidates for elected office under state law. Rarely do they have much funding, but in 2005 DNC Chairman Dean began a program (called the "50 State Strategy") of using DNC national funds to assist all state parties and pay for full-time professional staffers.<ref>{{cite news|last=Gilgoff|first=Dan|title=Dean's List|date=July 16, 2006|url=https://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/060716/24dems.htm|work=[[U.S. News & World Report]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120709100930/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/060716/24dems.htm|archive-date=July 9, 2012|access-date=April 26, 2007|url-status=dead|df=mdy}}</ref>

The [[Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee]] (DCCC) assists party candidates in House races and its current chairman (selected by the party caucus) is Representative [[Sean Patrick Maloney]] of New York. Similarly, the [[Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee]] (DSCC), headed by Senator [[Gary Peters]] of Michigan, raises funds for Senate races. The [[Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee]] (DLCC), chaired by [[Majority Leader of the New York State Senate]] [[Andrea Stewart-Cousins]], is a smaller organization that focuses on state legislative races. The DNC sponsors the [[College Democrats of America]] (CDA), a student-outreach organization with the goal of training and engaging a new generation of Democratic activists. [[Democrats Abroad]] is the organization for Americans living outside the United States. They work to advance the party's goals and encourage Americans living abroad to support the Democrats. The [[Young Democrats of America]] (YDA) and the [[High School Democrats of America]] (HSDA) are young adult and youth-led organizations respectively that attempt to draw in and mobilize young people for Democratic candidates but operates outside of the DNC. The [[Democratic Governors Association]] (DGA) is an organization supporting the candidacies of Democratic gubernatorial nominees and incumbents. Likewise, the mayors of the largest cities and urban centers convene as the [[National Conference of Democratic Mayors]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Home |url=http://www.democraticmayors.org/ |website=National Conference of Democratic Mayors |access-date=March 21, 2020 |archive-date=October 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201002181004/https://www.democraticmayors.org/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

{{Liberalism US}}

Historically, the party has represented farmers, laborers, and religious and ethnic minorities as it has opposed unregulated business and finance and favored progressive income taxes. In foreign policy, [[internationalism (politics)|internationalism]] (including [[interventionism (politics)|interventionism]]) was a dominant theme from 1913 to the mid-1960s. In the 1930s, the party began advocating [[Social programs in the United States|social programs]] targeted at the poor. The party had a [[Fiscal conservatism|fiscally conservative]], [[Economic liberalism|pro-business]] wing, typified by [[Grover Cleveland]] and [[Al Smith]], and a [[Southern Democrats|Southern]] conservative wing that shrank after President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] supported the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]]. The major influences for liberalism were labor unions (which peaked in the 1936–1952 era) and [[African Americans]]. [[Environmentalism]] has been a major component since the 1970s. The 21st century Democratic Party is predominantly a coalition of centrists, liberals, and progressives, with significant overlap between the three groups.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brownstein |first1=Ronald |title=The Democrats' Coalition Could Fundamentally Change by 2020 |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/05/democrats-progressive-agenda-and-2020-election/589066/ |website=The Atlantic |date=May 9, 2019 |access-date=March 13, 2020 |archive-date=March 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323161712/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/05/democrats-progressive-agenda-and-2020-election/589066/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Political scientists characterize the Democratic Party as less ideologically cohesive than the Republican Party due to the broader diversity of coalitions than compose the Democratic Party.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Gidron|first1=Noam|last2=Ziblatt|first2=Daniel|date=2019-05-11|title=Center-Right Political Parties in Advanced Democracies|url=https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-polisci-090717-092750|journal=Annual Review of Political Science|language=en|volume=22|issue=1|pages=17–35|doi=10.1146/annurev-polisci-090717-092750|s2cid=182421002|issn=1094-2939}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Grossman|first1=Matt|url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190626594.001.0001/acprof-9780190626594|title=Asymmetric Politics: Ideological Republicans and Group Interest Democrats|last2=Hopkins|first2=David A.|date=2016|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-062659-4|doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190626594.001.0001}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lelkes|first1=Yphtach|last2=Sniderman|first2=Paul M.|date=2016|title=The Ideological Asymmetry of the American Party System|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-political-science/article/ideological-asymmetry-of-the-american-party-system/52D59CAD35259CA306598353E93272AC|journal=British Journal of Political Science|language=en|volume=46|issue=4|pages=825–844|doi=10.1017/S0007123414000404|issn=0007-1234}}</ref>

The Democratic Party, once dominant in the [[Southeastern United States]], is now strongest in the Northeast ([[Mid-Atlantic (United States)|Mid-Atlantic]] and [[New England]]), the [[Great Lakes region]], and the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]] (including [[Hawaii]]). The party is also very strong in [[List of United States cities by population|major cities]] (regardless of region).<ref name="cities">{{cite web |last1=Thompson |first1=Derek |title=How Democrats Conquered the City |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/09/brief-history-how-democrats-conquered-city/597955/ |website=The Atlantic |date=September 13, 2019 |access-date=March 13, 2020 |archive-date=March 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200307075726/https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/09/brief-history-how-democrats-conquered-city/597955/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

The New Democrat Network supports socially liberal and fiscally moderate Democratic politicians and is associated with the congressional [[New Democrat Coalition]] in the House.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ndn.org/|title=NDN - A Progressive Think Tank and Advocacy Organization|access-date=March 11, 2016|archive-date=March 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310191245/http://ndn.org/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Suzan DelBene]] is the chair of the coalition,<ref name="Members - New Democrat Coalition"/> and former senator and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee [[Hillary Clinton]] was a member while in Congress.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://newdem.org/coalition/sndcmembers.shtml|title=Senate New Democrat Coalition Members|date=August 26, 2002|work=New Democrrat Network|access-date=April 16, 2017|url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020826214310/http://newdem.org/coalition/sndcmembers.shtml|archive-date=August 26, 2002|df=mdy-all}}</ref> In 2009, President [[Barack Obama]] was self-described as a New Democrat.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2009/03/obama-i-am-a-new-democrat-019862#ixzz3o9jykSUe|title=Obama: 'I am a New Democrat'|work=Politico.com|access-date=April 16, 2017|archive-date=April 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170419161022/http://www.politico.com/story/2009/03/obama-i-am-a-new-democrat-019862#ixzz3o9jykSUe|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Social liberalism|Social liberals]] ([[Modern liberalism in the United States|modern liberals]]) are a large portion of the Democratic base. According to 2018 exit polls, liberals constituted 27% of the electorate, and 91% of American liberals favored the candidate of the Democratic Party.<ref name="2018e">{{cite web |title=Exit Polls |url=https://www.cnn.com/election/2018/exit-polls |website=CNN Politics |access-date=July 4, 2020 |archive-date=November 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181114225635/https://www.cnn.com/election/2018/exit-polls |url-status=live}}</ref> [[White-collar worker|White-collar]] college-educated professionals were mostly Republican until the 1950s, but they now compose a vital component of the Democratic Party.<ref name="Judis, B. J. (July 11, 2003). The trouble with Howard Dean. ''Salon.com''.">{{cite web|last=Judis|first=John B.|title=The trouble with Howard Dean|work=Salon|publisher=Salon.com|url=http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2003/07/11/dean/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120921000516/http://www.salon.com/2003/07/11/dean_15/|archive-date=September 21, 2012|date=July 11, 2003|access-date=July 19, 2007|url-status=dead|df=mdy}}</ref>

A large majority of liberals favor moving toward [[universal health care]], with many supporting an eventual gradual transition to a [[single-payer health care|single-payer system]] in particular. A majority also favor [[diplomacy]] over [[war|military action]], [[stem cell|stem cell research]], the legalization of [[same-sex marriage]], stricter [[Gun politics in the United States|gun control]] and environmental protection laws as well as the preservation of [[pro-choice|abortion rights]]. Immigration and [[cultural diversity]] are deemed positive as liberals favor [[cultural pluralism]], a system in which immigrants retain their native culture in addition to adopting their new culture. They tend to be divided on [[free trade]] agreements such as the [[North American Free Trade Agreement]] (NAFTA) and organizations, with some seeing them as more favorable to corporations than workers. Most liberals oppose increased military spending and the mixing of church and state.<ref name="Pew Research Center.">{{cite web|url=http://people-press.org/2005/05/10/beyond-red-vs-blue/|title=Pew Research Center. (May 10, 2005). Beyond Red vs. Blue, p. 1 of 8|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120731155950/http://www.people-press.org/2005/05/10/beyond-red-vs-blue/|archive-date=July 31, 2012|access-date=July 12, 2007|url-status=dead |df=mdy-all|date=2005-05-10}}</ref>

This ideological group differs from the traditional organized labor base. According to the [[Pew Research Center]], a plurality of 41% resided in [[mass affluent]] households and 49% were college graduates, the highest figure of any typographical group. It was also the fastest growing typological group between the late 1990s and early 2000s.<ref name="Pew Research Center."/> Liberals include most of academia<ref name="Kurtz, H. (March 29, 2005). College Faculties A Most Liberal Lot, Study Finds. ''The Washington Post''.">{{cite news|title=College Faculties A Most Liberal Lot, Study Finds|last=Kurtz|first=Howard|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8427-2005Mar28.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|agency=Washingtonpost.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120604090510/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8427-2005Mar28.html|archive-date=June 4, 2012|access-date=July 2, 2007|date=March 29, 2005|url-status=dead|df=mdy}}</ref> and large portions of the professional class.<ref name="CNN. (2000). Exit Poll."/><ref name="CNN. (2004). Exit Poll."/><ref name="CNN. (2006). Exit Poll."/>

[[Progressivism in the United States|Progressives]] are the most left-leaning faction in the party and support strong business regulations, [[Social programs in the United States|social programs]], and [[workers' rights]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bartleby.com/65/pr/progrsvsm.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080629030845/http://www.bartleby.com/65/pr/progrsvsm.html|archive-date=June 29, 2008|title=Progressivism|publisher=Columbia Encyclopaedia|year=2007|access-date=January 19, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www-personal.umd.umich.edu/~ppennock/Progressive%20Reforms.htm|title=Important Examples of Progressive Reforms|publisher=University of Michigan|access-date=April 2, 2014|archive-date=February 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150212014328/http://www-personal.umd.umich.edu/~ppennock/Progressive%20Reforms.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Progressive ideological stances have much in common with the programs of [[Europe]]an countries as well as many East Asian countries. Many progressive Democrats are descendants of the [[New Left]] of Democratic presidential candidate Senator [[George McGovern]] of South Dakota whereas others were involved in the [[Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign|2016 presidential candidacy]] of Vermont Senator [[Bernie Sanders]]. Progressives are often considered to have ideas similar to social democracy due to heavy inspiration from the [[nordic model]], believing in federal top marginal income taxes ranging from 52% to 70%,<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/1/4/18168431/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-70-percent

|publisher=Mathew Yglesias|title=Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is floating a 70 percent top tax rate — here's the research that backs her up|date=January 4, 2019| access-date=November 5, 2021}}</ref> rent control,<ref>{{cite web|url= https://bungalow.com/articles/rent-control-in-san-francisco-everything-you-need-to-know

|publisher=Bungalow team|title=Rent control in San Francisco: Everything you need to know| access-date=November 5, 2021}}</ref> increased collective bargaining power, a $15 an hour minimum wage, as well as free tuition and Universal Healthcare (typically [[Single-payer healthcare|Medicare for All]]).<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.dailydot.com/debug/bernie-sanders-2020-platform-issues/

|publisher= Brenden Gallagher|title=Everybody wants to be him in 2020, but there's only one Bernie Sanders|date= February 24, 2019| access-date=November 5, 2021}}</ref>

The [[Congressional Progressive Caucus]] (CPC) is a caucus of progressive Democrats chaired by [[Pramila Jayapal]] of [[Washington (state)|Washington]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/jayapal-joins-pocan-as-co-chair-of-congressional-progressive-caucus |title=Jayapal Joins Pocan As Co-Chair of Congressional Progressive Caucus |last=McPherson |first=Lindsey |date=November 29, 2018 |website=[[rollcall.com]] |access-date=January 20, 2019 |archive-date=January 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121064755/https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/jayapal-joins-pocan-as-co-chair-of-congressional-progressive-caucus |url-status=live}}</ref> Its members have included Representatives [[Dennis Kucinich]] of [[Ohio]], [[John Conyers]] of [[Michigan]], [[Jim McDermott]] of [[Washington (state)|Washington]], [[Barbara Lee]] of [[California]], and Senator [[Paul Wellstone]] of [[Minnesota]]. Senators [[Sherrod Brown]] of [[Ohio]], [[Tammy Baldwin]] of [[Wisconsin]], [[Mazie Hirono]] of [[Hawaii]], and [[Ed Markey]] of [[Massachusetts]] were members of the caucus when in the House of Representatives. While no Democratic senators currently belong to the CPC, independent Senator Bernie Sanders is a member.<ref>{{cite web |title=Caucus Members |url=https://cpc-grijalva.house.gov/caucus-members/ |website=Congressional Progressive Caucus |access-date=March 21, 2020 |archive-date=March 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323191920/https://cpc-grijalva.house.gov/caucus-members/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

* Expand [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]] and safety net programs.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2014/03/13/push-to-expand-social-security-not-cut-it-gets-another-boost/|title=Push to expand Social Security (not cut it) gets another boost|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|first=Greg|last=Sargent|date=March 13, 2014|access-date=August 22, 2017|archive-date=July 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170716044825/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2014/03/13/push-to-expand-social-security-not-cut-it-gets-another-boost/|url-status=live}}</ref>

* Make college more affordable.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Green |first1=Erica |title=House Democrats Unveil Plan to Make College More Affordable |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/15/us/politics/house-democrats-higher-education.html |website=The New York Times |date=October 15, 2019 |access-date=March 21, 2020 |archive-date=March 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321220407/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/15/us/politics/house-democrats-higher-education.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Equal opportunity employment|Equal economic opportunity]], a [[social safety net]], and strong [[Labor unions in the United States|labor unions]] have historically been at the heart of Democratic economic policy.<ref name="Larry E. Sullivan 2009 p 291"/> The Democratic Party's economic policy positions, as measured by votes in Congress, tend to align with those of middle class.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Grossmann|first1=Matt|last2=Mahmood|first2=Zuhaib|last3=Isaac|first3=William|date=2021|title=Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Unequal Class Influence in American Policy|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/711900|journal=The Journal of Politics|volume=83|issue=4|pages=1706–1720|doi=10.1086/711900|s2cid=224851520|issn=0022-3816}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Bartels|first=Larry M.|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/book/64558|title=Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age - Second Edition|date=2016|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-1-4008-8336-3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Rhodes|first1=Jesse H.|last2=Schaffner|first2=Brian F.|date=2017|title=Testing Models of Unequal Representation: Democratic Populists and Republican Oligarchs?|url=http://www.nowpublishers.com/article/Details/QJPS-16077|journal=Quarterly Journal of Political Science|volume=12|issue=2|pages=185–204|doi=10.1561/100.00016077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lax|first1=Jeffrey R.|last2=Phillips|first2=Justin H.|last3=Zelizer|first3=Adam|date=2019|title=The Party or the Purse? Unequal Representation in the US Senate|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/abs/party-or-the-purse-unequal-representation-in-the-us-senate/286BFEAA039374759DE14D782A0BB8DD|journal=American Political Science Review|language=en|volume=113|issue=4|pages=917–940|doi=10.1017/S0003055419000315|s2cid=21669533|issn=0003-0554}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Hacker|first1=Jacob S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kqu6DwAAQBAJ|title=Let them Eat Tweets: How the Right Rules in an Age of Extreme Inequality|last2=Pierson|first2=Paul|date=2020|publisher=Liveright Publishing|isbn=978-1-63149-685-1|language=en}}</ref> Democrats support a [[progressive tax]] system, higher [[Minimum wage in the United States|minimum wages]], [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]], [[universal health care]], [[Education in the United States|public education]], and [[Subsidized housing in the United States|subsidized housing]].<ref name="Larry E. Sullivan 2009 p 291"/> They also support [[infrastructure]] development and clean energy investments to achieve economic development and job creation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.democrats.org/issues/economy_and_job_creation|title=Jobs and the Economy|work=Democrats.org|access-date=July 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150320195530/http://www.democrats.org/issues/economy_and_job_creation|archive-date=March 20, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Since the 1990s, the party has at times supported [[Centrism|centrist]] economic reforms that cut the size of government and reduced market regulations.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/19/wall-street-deregulation-clinton-advisers-obama|title=Wall Street deregulation pushed by Clinton advisers, documents reveal|author=Dan Roberts|newspaper=The Guardian |df=mdy-all|date=2014-04-19|access-date=December 14, 2016|archive-date=January 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200106185232/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/19/wall-street-deregulation-clinton-advisers-obama|url-status=live}}</ref> The party has generally rejected both [[Laissez-faire|''laissez-faire'' economics]] and [[market socialism]], instead favoring [[Keynesian economics]] within a capitalist market-based system.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mudge |first1=Stephanie |title=Leftism Reinvented: Western Parties from Socialism to Neoliberalism |date=2018 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |pages=167–213}}</ref>

In 2017, Senate Democrats introduced the Raise the Wage Act which would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kulwin|first=Noah|date=May 25, 2017|title=Democrats just united on a $15-an-hour minimum wage|url=https://news.vice.com/story/democrats-just-united-on-a-15-an-hour-minimum-wage|work=Vice|access-date=May 29, 2017|archive-date=May 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170526052042/https://news.vice.com/story/democrats-just-united-on-a-15-an-hour-minimum-wage|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2021, Democratic president [[Joe Biden]] proposed increasing the minimum wage to $15 by 2025.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Freking |first1=Kevin |title=Biden, Democrats hit gas on push for $15 minimum wage |url=https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-business-rashida-tlaib-coronavirus-pandemic-minimum-wage-ee0e8cc7c96a30d9581723b2c6bb4189 |website=The Associated Press |access-date=6 February 2021}}</ref> While various states controlled by a democratic (e.g. California, Connecticut) have decided to have a set minimum wage before that date [https://www.epi.org/minimum-wage-tracker/#/min_wage/California as seen in the Economic Policy Institute Minimum Wage Tracker]

Democrats call for "affordable and quality health care" and favor moving toward [[universal health care]] in a variety of forms to address rising healthcare costs. Some Democratic politicians favor a [[single-payer health care|single-payer program]] or [[Medicare for All]], while others prefer creating a [[public health insurance option]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Goodnough |first1=Abby |last2=Kaplan |first2=Thomas |title=Democrat vs. Democrat: How Health Care Is Dividing the Party |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/28/health/democratic-debate-healthcare.html |website=The New York Times |date=June 28, 2019 |access-date=July 22, 2020 |archive-date=July 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200722004441/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/28/health/democratic-debate-healthcare.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act]], signed into law by President [[Barack Obama]] on March 23, 2010, has been one of the most significant pushes for universal health care. As of December 2019, more than 20&nbsp;million Americans have gained health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Nova |first1=Annie |title=How the Affordable Care Act transformed our health-care system |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/29/how-the-affordable-care-act-transformed-the-us-health-care-system.html |website=CNBC |date=December 29, 2019 |access-date=July 22, 2020 |archive-date=July 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727041849/https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/29/how-the-affordable-care-act-transformed-the-us-health-care-system.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Secretary Kerry Addresses Delegates Before Signing the COP21 Climate Change Agreement on Earth Day in New York (26554283406).jpg|thumb|right|Secretary of State [[John Kerry]] addressing delegates at the [[United Nations]] before signing the [[Paris Agreement]] on April 22, 2016]]

 

| image1 = 2020 Pew Survey - Global warming - Climate change - political party.svg | caption1 = In the United States, Democrats (blue) and [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] (red) have long differed in views of the importance of addressing climate change, with the gap widening in the late 2010s mainly through Democrats' share increasing by more than 30 points.<ref name=PewSurvey_2020>{{cite web |title=As Economic Concerns Recede, Environmental Protection Rises on the Public's Policy Agenda / Partisan gap on dealing with climate change gets even wider |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2020/02/13/as-economic-concerns-recede-environmental-protection-rises-on-the-publics-policy-agenda/ |website=PewResearch.org |publisher=Pew Research Center |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116155958/https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2020/02/13/as-economic-concerns-recede-environmental-protection-rises-on-the-publics-policy-agenda/ |archive-date=16 January 2021 |date=13 February 2020 |url-status=live}} (Discontinuity resulted from survey changing in 2015 from reciting "global warming" to "climate change".)</ref>

 

Democrats believe that the government should protect the environment and have a history of [[environmentalism]]. In more recent years, this stance has emphasized [[renewable energy]] generation as the basis for an improved economy, greater [[national security]], and general environmental benefits.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.democrats.org/a/national/clean_environment/ |title=Agenda&nbsp;— Environment |access-date=March 18, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070315113030/http://www.democrats.org/a/national/clean_environment/ |archive-date=March 15, 2007}}</ref> The Democratic Party is substantially more likely than the Republican Party to support environmental regulation and policies that are supportive of renewable energy.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Coley|first1=Jonathan S.|last2=Hess|first2=David J.|date=2012|title=Green energy laws and Republican legislators in the United States|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421512004752|journal=Energy Policy|language=en|volume=48|pages=576–583|doi=10.1016/j.enpol.2012.05.062|issn=0301-4215}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bergquist|first1=Parrish|last2=Warshaw|first2=Christopher|date=2020|title=Elections and parties in environmental politics|url=https://www.elgaronline.com/view/edcoll/9781788972833/9781788972833.00017.xml|journal=Handbook of U.S. Environmental Policy|pages=126–141|language=en-US|doi=10.4337/9781788972840.00017|isbn=9781788972840|s2cid=219077951}}</ref>

Democrats have supported increased domestic [[renewable energy]] development, including wind and solar power farms, in an effort to reduce carbon pollution. The party's platform calls for an "all of the above" energy policy including clean energy, natural gas and domestic oil, with the desire of becoming energy independent.<ref name="democrats.org"/> The party has supported higher taxes on [[oil companies]] and increased regulations on [[coal power plant]]s, favoring a policy of reducing long-term reliance on [[fossil fuels]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.democrats.org/issues/energy_independence|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100920002824/http://www.democrats.org/issues/energy_independence|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 20, 2010|title=Energy Independence|work=Democrats.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/06/02/coal-state-democrats-to-obama-curb-emissions-um-no-thanks/|title=Coal state Democrats to Obama: Curb emissions? Um, no thanks.|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|first=Sean|last=Sullivan|date=June 2, 2014|access-date=August 22, 2017|archive-date=May 13, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150513225106/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/06/02/coal-state-democrats-to-obama-curb-emissions-um-no-thanks/|url-status=live}}</ref> Additionally, the party supports stricter [[fuel emissions standard]]s to prevent air pollution.

The party is very supportive of improving voting rights as well as election accuracy and accessibility.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://usliberals.about.com/od/electionreform/a/VotingAgenda.htm|title=Liberalism 101: Democratic Party Agenda on Electoral Reform|author=Deborah White|work=About|access-date=April 17, 2014|archive-date=March 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310140253/http://usliberals.about.com/od/electionreform/a/VotingAgenda.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> They support extensions of voting time, including making election day a holiday. They support reforming the electoral system to eliminate [[gerrymandering]], abolishing the [[United States Electoral College|electoral college]], as well as passing comprehensive [[Campaign finance reform in the United States|campaign finance reform]].<ref name="ontheissues.org"/>

[[File:President Lyndon B. Johnson Signing of the Immigration Act of 1965 (02) - restoration1.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|President Lyndon B. Johnson signing the [[Immigration Act of 1965]] as [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Hubert Humphrey]], [[United States Senate|Senators]] [[Ted Kennedy|Edward M. Kennedy]] and [[Robert F. Kennedy]] and others look on]]

Many Democratic politicians have called for systematic reform of the immigration system such that residents that have [[Illegal immigration to the United States|come into the United States illegally]] have a pathway to legal citizenship. President Obama remarked in November 2013 that he felt it was "long past time to fix our broken immigration system," particularly to allow "incredibly bright young people" that came over as students to become full citizens. The Public Religion Research Institute found in a late 2013 study that 73% of Democrats supported the pathway concept, compared to 63% of Americans as a whole.<ref name="long-past">{{cite news |last=Frumin |first=Aliyah |title=Obama: 'Long past time' for immigration reform |date=November 25, 2013 |url=https://msnbc.com/hardball/obama-long-past-time-reform |publisher=[[MSNBC.com]] |access-date=January 26, 2014 |archive-date=January 21, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140121145422/http://www.msnbc.com/hardball/obama-long-past-time-reform |url-status=live}}</ref>

The Democratic Party is supportive of [[LGBT]] rights. Most support for [[same-sex marriage in the United States]] has come from Democrats. Support for same-sex marriage has increased in the past decade according to [[ABC News]]. An April 2009 ABC News/''Washington Post'' public opinion poll put support among Democrats at 62%<ref>{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/images/PollingUnit/1089a6HotButtonIssues.pdf|title=Changing Views on Social Issues|date=April 30, 2009|access-date=May 14, 2009|archive-date=November 10, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101110130400/http://abcnews.go.com/images/PollingUnit/1089a6HotButtonIssues.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> whereas a June 2008 ''[[Newsweek]]'' poll found that 42% of Democrats support same-sex marriage while 23% support [[civil union]]s or [[domestic partnership]] laws and 28% oppose any legal recognition at all.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pollingreport.com/civil.htm|title=Civil Rights|work=pollingreport.com|access-date=August 23, 2008|archive-date=April 28, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130428225441/http://www.pollingreport.com/civil.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> A broad majority of Democrats have supported other LGBT-related laws such as extending [[hate crime]] statutes, [[Employment Non-Discrimination Act|legally preventing discrimination against LGBT people in the workforce]] and repealing the "[[don't ask, don't tell]]" military policy. A 2006 [[Pew Research Center]] poll of Democrats found that 55% supported gays adopting children with 40% opposed while 70% support [[Sexual orientation and military service|gays in the military]], with only 23% opposed.<ref>[http://people-press.org/report/273/less-opposition-to-gay-marriage-adoption-and-military-service Less Opposition to Gay Marriage, Adoption and Military Service] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110310052909/http://people-press.org/report/273/less-opposition-to-gay-marriage-adoption-and-military-service |date=March 10, 2011}}. [[Pew Research Center]]. March 22, 2006.</ref> Gallup polling from May 2009 stated that 82% of Democrats support open enlistment.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/120764/conservatives-shift-favor-openly-gay-service-members.aspx|title=Conservatives Shift in Favor of Openly Gay Service Members|publisher=[[The Gallup Organization|Gallup.com]]|date=June 5, 2009|first=Lymari|last=Morales|access-date=August 25, 2010|archive-date=May 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160501214245/http://www.gallup.com/poll/120764/Conservatives-Shift-Favor-Openly-Gay-Service-Members.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>

The 2004 Democratic National Platform stated that marriage should be defined at the state level and it repudiated the [[Federal Marriage Amendment]].<ref name="platform">{{cite web|url=http://www.democrats.org/pdfs/2004platform.pdf |title=The 2004 Democratic National Platform for America|url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041013001521/http://www.democrats.org/pdfs/2004platform.pdf |archive-date=October 13, 2004 |df=mdy}}&nbsp;{{small|(111&nbsp;KB)}}</ref> While not stating support of same-sex marriage, the 2008 platform called for repeal of the [[Defense of Marriage Act]], which banned federal recognition of same-sex marriage and removed the need for interstate recognition, supported antidiscrimination laws and the extension of hate crime laws to LGBT people and opposed "don't ask, don't tell".<ref>{{cite web |last=Garcia |first=Michelle |url=http://www.advocate.com/print-issue/advance/2012/04/22/year-democrats-embrace-marriage-equality |title=Is This the Year Democrats Embrace Marriage Equality? |publisher=Advocate.com |date=April 22, 2012 |access-date=October 2, 2013 |archive-date=October 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004234045/http://www.advocate.com/print-issue/advance/2012/04/22/year-democrats-embrace-marriage-equality |url-status=live}}</ref> The 2012 platform included support for same-sex marriage and for the repeal of DOMA.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |work=All Things Considered |url=https://www.npr.org/2012/09/04/160562404/democratic-platform-endorses-gay-marriage |title=Democratic Platform Endorses Gay Marriage |publisher=Npr.org |date=September 4, 2012 |access-date=October 2, 2013 |archive-date=October 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005001326/http://www.npr.org/2012/09/04/160562404/democratic-platform-endorses-gay-marriage |url-status=live}}</ref>

On May 9, 2012, [[Barack Obama]] became the first sitting president to say he supports same-sex marriage.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57431122-503544/obama-backs-same-sex-marriage/|title=Obama backs same-sex marriage|work=[[CBS News]]|date=May 9, 2012|access-date=May 9, 2012|archive-date=May 10, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510010911/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57431122-503544/obama-backs-same-sex-marriage/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="The Huffington Post">{{cite news|url=https://huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/09/obama-gay-marriage_n_1503245.html|title=Obama Backs Gay Marriage|author=Sam Stein|date=May 9, 2012|work=The Huffington Post|access-date=December 6, 2019|archive-date=September 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920002222/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/09/obama-gay-marriage_n_1503245.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Previously, he had opposed restrictions on same-sex marriage such as the [[Defense of Marriage Act]], which he promised to repeal,<ref name=LGBT>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/issues/issues.samesexmarriage.html|title=Same-sex Marriage - Issues - Election Center 2008 - CNN.com|publisher=Cnn.com|access-date=January 19, 2015|archive-date=April 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428162155/http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/issues/issues.samesexmarriage.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[California]]'s [[Prop 8]],<ref>[http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/07/02/obama_opposes_gay_marriage_ban.html Obama Opposes Gay Marriage Ban] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926223051/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/07/02/obama_opposes_gay_marriage_ban.html |date=September 26, 2011}}. ''[[The Washington Post]]''. By Perry Bacon Jr. July 2, 2008.</ref> and a [[constitutional amendment]] to ban same-sex marriage (which he opposed saying that "decisions about marriage should be left to the states as they always have been"),<ref>[http://obama.senate.gov/press/060607-obama_statement_26/index.php Obama Statement on Vote Against Constitutional Amendment to Ban Gay Marriage] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208020010/http://obama.senate.gov/press/060607-obama_statement_26/index.php |date=December 8, 2008}}. [[United States Senate]] [http://senate.gov/ Official Website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228084718/http://www.senate.gov/ |date=December 28, 2016}}. June 7, 2006.</ref> but also stated that he personally believed marriage to be between a man and a woman and that he favored civil unions that would "give same-sex couples equal legal rights and privileges as married couples".<ref name=LGBT/> Earlier, when running for the Illinois Senate in 1996 he said, "I favor legalizing same-sex marriages, and would fight efforts to prohibit such marriages".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/13/obama-once-supported-same_n_157656.html |title=Obama Once Supported Same-Sex Marriage 'Unequivocally' |publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |date=January 13, 2009 |access-date=June 17, 2010 |first=Jason |last=Linkins |archive-date=May 12, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512012736/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/13/obama-once-supported-same_n_157656.html |url-status=live}}</ref> [[John Kerry]], Democratic presidential candidate in 2004, did not support same-sex marriage. Former presidents [[Bill Clinton]]<ref>{{cite news | url=http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2009/09/25/video-clinton-shifts-on-gay-marriage/ |work=CNN |title=Video: Clinton shifts on gay marriage |access-date=May 1, 2010 |date=September 25, 2009 |archive-date=December 26, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091226140541/http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2009/09/25/video-clinton-shifts-on-gay-marriage/ |url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Jimmy Carter]]<ref>{{cite news|date=March 19, 2012|url=https://huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/19/president-jimmy-carter-bible-book_n_1349570.html|title=President Jimmy Carter Authors New Bible Book, Answers Hard Biblical Questions|work=The Huffington Post|access-date=June 26, 2012|first=Paul|last=Raushenbush|archive-date=June 25, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120625134951/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/19/president-jimmy-carter-bible-book_n_1349570.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and former vice presidents [[Al Gore]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://current.com/items/88817757_gay-men-and-women-should-have-the-same-rights.htm |title=Gay men and women should have the same rights // Current |publisher=Current.com |date=January 17, 2008 |access-date=June 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091129220957/http://current.com/items/88817757_gay-men-and-women-should-have-the-same-rights.htm |archive-date=November 29, 2009 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref> and [[Walter Mondale]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Israel|first=Josh|title=Mondale and Dukakis Back Marriage Equality|website=[[ThinkProgress]]|date=May 16, 2013|url=https://thinkprogress.org/mondale-dukakis-back-marriage-equality-joining-every-living-democratic-presidential-nominee-56a1d402991d/|access-date=November 4, 2019|archive-date=November 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191104164913/https://thinkprogress.org/mondale-dukakis-back-marriage-equality-joining-every-living-democratic-presidential-nominee-56a1d402991d/|url-status=live}}</ref> also support gay marriage. President [[Joe Biden]] has been in favor of [[same-sex marriage]] since 2012 when he became the highest-ranking government official to support it.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cournoyer |first1=Caroline |title=Joe Biden Endorses Gay Marriage |url=https://www.governing.com/archive/Joseph-Biden-Endorses-Gay-Marriage.html |website=Governing |date=May 7, 2012 |access-date=9 February 2021}}</ref>

The 2016 Democratic Party platform declares: "We are committed to addressing the extraordinary challenges faced by our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico. Many stem from the fundamental question of Puerto Rico's political status. Democrats believe that the people of Puerto Rico should determine their ultimate political status from permanent options that do not conflict with the Constitution, laws, and policies of the United States. Democrats are committed to promoting economic opportunity and good-paying jobs for the hardworking people of Puerto Rico. We also believe that Puerto Ricans must be treated equally by Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs that benefit families. Puerto Ricans should be able to vote for the people who make their laws, just as they should be treated equally. All American citizens, no matter where they reside, should have the right to vote for the president of the United States. Finally, we believe that federal officials must respect Puerto Rico's local self-government as laws are implemented and Puerto Rico's budget and debt are restructured so that it can get on a path towards stability and prosperity".<ref name = "2016platform">{{cite web|url=https://www.demconvention.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Democratic-Party-Platform-7.21.16-no-lines.pdf|title=Democratic Party Platform 2016|access-date=November 11, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110225904/https://www.demconvention.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Democratic-Party-Platform-7.21.16-no-lines.pdf|archive-date=November 10, 2016|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

The Democratic Party currently opposes the death penalty.<ref name="Protecting Communities and Building"/> Although most Democrats in Congress have never seriously moved to overturn the rarely used [[Capital punishment by the United States federal government|federal death penalty]], both [[Russ Feingold]] and [[Dennis Kucinich]] have introduced such bills with little success. Democrats have led efforts to overturn state death penalty laws, particularly in [[New Jersey#Capital punishment|New Jersey]] and in [[New Mexico]]. They have also sought to prevent the reinstatement of the death penalty in those states which prohibit it, including [[Massachusetts]] and [[New York (state)#Capital punishment|New York]]. During the [[Presidency of Bill Clinton|Clinton administration]], Democrats led the expansion of the federal death penalty. These efforts resulted in the passage of the [[Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996]], signed into law by [[Bill Clinton|President Clinton]], which heavily limited appeals in death penalty cases.

In June 2016, the Democratic Platform Drafting Committee unanimously adopted an amendment to abolish the death penalty.<ref>{{cite web|title=Democratic Platform Drafting Meeting Concludes|url=https://demconvention.com/news/democratic-platform-drafting-meeting-concludes/|date=June 25, 2016|access-date=June 29, 2016|publisher=DNCC|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20160802094026/https://demconvention.com/news/democratic-platform-drafting-meeting-concludes/|archive-date=August 2, 2016|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Some Democratic officeholders have championed [[consumer protection]] laws that limit the sharing of consumer data between corporations. Democrats have opposed [[Sodomy laws in the United States|sodomy laws]] since the 1972 platform which stated that "Americans should be free to make their own choice of life-styles and private habits without being subject to discrimination or prosecution",<ref>{{cite web |title=1972 Democratic Party Platform |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/1972-democratic-party-platform |website=The American Presidency Project}}</ref> and believe that government should not regulate consensual noncommercial sexual conduct among adults as a matter of personal privacy.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ashtari|first=Shadee|title=Here's The Medieval-Sounding Sodomy Law That Helped Ken Cuccinelli Lose In Virginia|url=https://huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/06/ken-cuccinelli-sodomy_n_4226708.html|work=Huffington Post|date=November 6, 2013|access-date=December 6, 2019|archive-date=March 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324035215/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/06/ken-cuccinelli-sodomy_n_4226708.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{blockquote|A) The United States is doing too much in other countries around the world, and it is time to do less around the world and focus more on our own problems here at home.

B) The United States must continue to push forward to promote democracy and freedom in other countries worldwide because these efforts make our own country more secure.}}

On February 27, 2009, President Obama announced: "As a candidate for president, I made clear my support for a timeline of 16 months to carry out this drawdown, while pledging to consult closely with our military commanders upon taking office to ensure that we preserve the gains we've made and protect our troops ... Those consultations are now complete, and I have chosen a timeline that will remove our combat brigades over the next 18 months".<ref name=top/> Around 50,000 non-combat-related forces would remain.<ref name=top/> Obama's plan drew wide bipartisan support, including that of defeated Republican presidential candidate Senator [[John McCain]].<ref name=top>[http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0209/19410.html Top Republicans embrace Iraq plan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013190657/http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0209/19410.html |date=October 13, 2012}}. ''[[The Politico]]''. February 27, 2009.</ref>{{Update inline|date=April 2017}}

Support for the war among the American people has diminished over time and many Democrats have changed their opinion and now oppose a continuation of the conflict.<ref name=holland/><ref name="edge"/> In July 2008, [[Gallup poll|Gallup]] found that 41% of Democrats called the invasion a "mistake" while a 55% majority disagreed. In contrast, Republicans were more supportive of the war. The survey described Democrats as evenly divided about whether or not more troops should be sent—56% support it if it would mean removing troops from Iraq and only 47% support it otherwise.<ref name="edge">[http://www.gallup.com/poll/109150/Afghan-War-Edges-Iraq-Most-Important-US.aspx "Afghan War Edges Out Iraq as Most Important for U.S."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224202906/http://www.gallup.com/poll/109150/Afghan-War-Edges-Iraq-Most-Important-US.aspx |date=December 24, 2016}} by Frank Newport. [[Gallup poll|Gallup]]. July 30, 2008. Retrieved August 24, 2009.</ref> A [[CNN]] survey in August 2009 stated that a majority of Democrats now oppose the war. CNN polling director Keating Holland said: "Nearly two thirds of Republicans support the war in Afghanistan. Three quarters of Democrats oppose the war".<ref name=holland>[http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25895398-12335,00.html Most Americans oppose Afghanistan war: poll] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090810102232/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25895398-12335,00.html |date=August 10, 2009}}. ''[[The Australian]]''. August 7, 2009. Retrieved August 24, 2009.</ref> An August 2009 ''Washington Post'' poll found similar results, and the paper stated that Obama's policies would anger his closest supporters.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/19/AR2009081903066.html Public Opinion in U.S. Turns Against Afghan War] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171025072529/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/19/AR2009081903066.html |date=October 25, 2017}}. By Jennifer Agiesta and Jon Cohen. ''Washington Post''. August 20, 2009. Retrieved August 24, 2009.</ref>

{{blockquote|Professionals, who are, roughly speaking, college-educated producers of services and ideas, used to be the most staunchly Republican of all occupational groups ... now chiefly working for large corporations and bureaucracies rather than on their own, and heavily influenced by the environmental, civil-rights, and feminist movements—began to vote Democratic. In the four elections from 1988 to 2000, they backed Democrats by an average of 52 percent to 40 percent.|John B. Judis and Ruy Teixeira, ''The American Prospect'', June 19, 2007}}

The three most significant labor groupings in the Democratic coalition today are the [[AFL–CIO]] and [[Change to Win Federation|Change to Win]] [[National trade union center|labor federations]] as well as the [[National Education Association]], a large, unaffiliated [[teacher|teachers']] union. Important issues for labor unions include supporting [[industrial policy]] that sustains unionized [[manufacturing]] jobs, raising the [[minimum wage]], and promoting broad social programs such as [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]] and [[Medicare (United States)|Medicare]].

[[File:Jon Ossoff Senate Portrait 2021.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|150px|Elected at age 33, [[Jon Ossoff]] is currently the youngest member of the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=O'Kane |first1=Caitlin |title=Jon Ossoff becomes the youngest Democrat elected to the Senate since Joe Biden in 1973 |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jon-ossoff-youngest-democrat-senator-since-joe-biden/ |website=CBS News |access-date=12 January 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Wise |first1=Alana |title=Jon Ossoff Wins Georgia Runoff, Handing Democrats Senate Control |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/01/06/952417689/democrat-jon-ossoff-claims-victory-over-david-perdue-in-georgia-runoff |website=NPR |date=January 6, 2021 |access-date=12 January 2021}}</ref>]]

[[File:Hillary Clinton by Gage Skidmore 4 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|150px|[[Hillary Clinton]] was the first woman to be nominated for president by a major party.]]

Since the 1990s, women have supported Democratic Party candidates to various offices at higher rates than men.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2020/02/19/the-future-is-female-how-the-growing-political-power-of-women-will-remake-american-politics/ |title=The future is female: How the growing political power of women will remake American politics |date=February 19, 2020 |access-date=July 24, 2020 |archive-date=July 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729191329/https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2020/02/19/the-future-is-female-how-the-growing-political-power-of-women-will-remake-american-politics/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Polls in 2009 indicated that 41% of women identify as Democrats while only 25% of women identify as Republicans and 26% as independents whereas 32% of men identify as Democrats, 28% as Republicans and 34% as independents. Among ethnic minorities, women also are more likely than men to identify as Democrats.

The [[National Federation of Democratic Women]] is an affiliated organization meant to advocate for women's issues. National women's organizations that support Democratic candidates include [[EMILY's List]], which aims to help elect pro-choice female Democratic candidates to office.

Of the 118 women in the [[United States House of Representatives]] at the start of the [[117th United States Congress|117th Congress]], there were 89 Democrats.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cohen |first1=Ethan |last2=Stark |first2=Liz |last3=Levy |first3=Adam |title=117th Congress: Breaking down the historic numbers |url=https://www.cbs58.com/news/117th-congress-breaking-down-the-historic-numbers |website=CNN |access-date=January 12, 2021}}</ref> After [[2021 United States House of Representatives elections|one special election in June 2021]], where one more female Democrat was elected as U.S. Representative, there have been 119 women in the House, 90 of whom are Democratic.<ref>{{cite web |title=Women in the U.S. House of Representatives 2021 |url=https://cawp.rutgers.edu/women-us-house-representatives-2021 |website=Center for American Women and Politics |date=July 9, 2015 |access-date=November 12, 2021}}</ref>

The [[Stonewall Democrats]] is an LGBT advocacy group associated with the Democratic Party. The [[Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus|Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus]] is a congressional caucus of 172 Democrats that advocate for LGBT rights within the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]].<ref name="lgbtcaucus">{{cite web |url=https://lgbt-cicilline.house.gov/members |title=Members |publisher=Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus |df=mdy-all |access-date=2 March 2019 |archive-date=March 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331154313/https://lgbt-cicilline.house.gov/members |url-status=live}}</ref>

By winning the [[2020 Iowa Democratic presidential caucuses]], former [[List of mayors of South Bend, Indiana|Mayor of South Bend, Indiana]], [[Pete Buttigieg]] became the first openly gay candidate to win a presidential primary or caucus. In December 2020, Buttigieg was selected to serve as [[United States Secretary of Transportation]], and he became the first openly gay cabinet secretary to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate in February 2021.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bennett |first1=Geoff |last2=Golden |first2=Amanda |last3=Talbot |first3=Haley |last4=Smith |first4=Allan |title=Biden to nominate Pete Buttigieg for transportation secretary |website=[[NBC News]] |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-nominate-pete-buttigieg-transportation-secretary-n1251291 |access-date=12 January 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Shephardson |first1=David |title=Pete Buttigieg becomes first openly gay cabinet secretary confirmed by U.S. Senate |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-biden-transportation/pete-buttigieg-becomes-first-openly-gay-cabinet-secretary-confirmed-by-u-s-senate-idUSKBN2A22IQ |website=Reuters |date=February 2, 2021 |access-date=15 February 2021}}</ref>

Prominent modern-day African-American Democratic politicians include [[Jim Clyburn]], [[Maxine Waters]], [[Barbara Lee]], [[Charles Rangel]], [[John Conyers]], [[Karen Bass]], [[Ayanna Pressley]], [[Ilhan Omar]], Senator [[Cory Booker]], Vice President [[Kamala Harris]], and former President [[Barack Obama]], who managed to win over 95% of the African-American vote in the 2008 election.<ref>{{cite web|last=Teixeira|first=Ruy (November 11, 2008)|title=Digging into the 2008 Exit Polls|url=http://takingnote.tcf.org/2008/11/digging-into-th.html|publisher=Taking Note|access-date=October 30, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111111258/http://takingnote.tcf.org/2008/11/digging-into-th.html|archive-date=January 11, 2012|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Despite not having a partisan affiliation, the [[NAACP]] often participates in organizing voter turnout drives and advocates for progressive causes, especially, those that affect people of color.<ref>{{cite web|title=National Association for the Advancement of Colored People|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/National_Association_for_the_Advancement_of_Colored_People.aspx|publisher=encyclopedia.com|access-date=October 31, 2011|archive-date=January 18, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118135410/http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/National_Association_for_the_Advancement_of_Colored_People.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Latino Americans ===

The [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Latino]] population, particularly the large [[Mexican Americans|Mexican American]] population in the [[Southwestern United States|Southwest]] and the large [[Puerto Ricans in the United States|Puerto Rican]] and [[Dominican American|Dominican]] populations in the [[Northeastern United States|Northeast]], have been strong supporters of the Democratic Party. In the [[1996 United States presidential election|1996 presidential election]], Democratic President [[Bill Clinton]] received 72% of the Latino vote.<ref>{{cite news|last=Cillizza|first=Chris|title=With Hispanic support for Obama waning, could Latino vote be up for grabs in 2012?|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/with-hispanic-support-for-obama-waning-could-latino-vote-be-up-for-grabs-in-2012/2011/09/18/gIQAG9KUdK_story.html|access-date=October 30, 2011|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=September 18, 2011|archive-date=September 21, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110921104649/http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/with-hispanic-support-for-obama-waning-could-latino-vote-be-up-for-grabs-in-2012/2011/09/18/gIQAG9KUdK_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In following years, the Republican Party gained increasing support from the Latino community, especially among Latino Protestants and [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostals]]. With his much more liberal views on immigration, President Bush was the first Republican president to gain 40% of the Latino vote in the [[2004 United States presidential election|2004 presidential election]]. But the Republican Party's support among Hispanics eroded in the [[United States House of Representatives elections, 2006|2006 midterm elections]], dropping from 44% to 30%, with the Democrats gaining in the Latino vote from 55% in 2004 to 69% in 2006.<ref name="CNN. (2004). Exit Poll."/><ref name="CNN. (2006). Exit Poll."/> Democrats increased their share of the Latino vote in the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008 presidential election]], with [[Barack Obama]] receiving 67%. According to exit polls by Edison Research, Obama increased his support again in 2012, winning 71% of Latino voters.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/09/politics/latino-vote-key-election/index.html|work=CNN|title=Latino vote key to Obama's re-election|date=November 9, 2012|access-date=November 19, 2012|archive-date=November 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113052957/http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/09/politics/latino-vote-key-election/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Cuban Americans]] still tend to vote Republican, though there has been a noticeable change starting with the 2008 elections. During the 2008 elections, Barack Obama received 47% of the Cuban American vote in Florida.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/us/21miami.html|work=The New York Times|first=Damien|last=Cave|title=U.S. Overtures Find Support Among Cuban-Americans|date=April 21, 2009|access-date=February 21, 2017|archive-date=April 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170421101019/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/us/21miami.html|url-status=live}}</ref> According to Bendixen's [[exit polls]], 84% of Miami-Dade Cuban-American voters 65 or older backed McCain, while 55% of those 29 or younger backed Obama,<ref>Woods, Casey (November 6, 2008). [http://candidatecubawatch.blogspot.com/2008/11/analysis-of-cuban-american-vote.html "Presidential and Congressional Candidate Cuba Watch: Analysis of Cuban American vote"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011130541/http://candidatecubawatch.blogspot.com/2008/11/analysis-of-cuban-american-vote.html |date=October 11, 2016}}. Candidatecubawatch.blogspot.com. Retrieved July 15, 2013.</ref> showing that the younger Cuban-American generation has become more liberal.

Unaffiliated Latino advocacy groups that often support progressive candidates and causes include the [[National Council of La Raza]] and the [[League of United Latin American Citizens]]. In the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]], the Democratic caucus of Latino Americans is the [[Congressional Hispanic Caucus]].

[[File:Secretary Deb Haaland, official headshot.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Secretary of the Interior [[Deb Haaland]]]]

In [[2018 United States House of Representatives elections|2018]], Democrats [[Deb Haaland]] of [[New Mexico]] and [[Sharice Davids]] of [[Kansas]] became the first Native American women to be elected to Congress.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Watkins |first1=Eli |title=First Native American women elected to Congress: Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/06/politics/sharice-davids-and-deb-haaland-native-american-women/index.html |website=CNN |date=November 7, 2018 |access-date=June 10, 2020 |archive-date=July 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200708020834/https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/06/politics/sharice-davids-and-deb-haaland-native-american-women/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Democrat [[Peggy Flanagan]] was also elected in 2018 and currently serves as [[List of lieutenant governors of Minnesota|Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota]]. Flanagan is the second Native American woman to be elected to statewide executive office in U.S. history and the highest-ranking Native woman to be elected to executive office.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Taylor |first1=Rory |title=Lieutenant Governor-Elect of Minnesota Peggy Flanagan Becomes the Highest-Ranking Native Woman Elected to Executive Office in the United States |url=https://www.teenvogue.com/story/lieutenant-governor-of-minnesota-peggy-flanagan |website=Teen Vogue |date=December 3, 2018 |access-date=June 16, 2020 |archive-date=July 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729201015/https://www.teenvogue.com/story/lieutenant-governor-of-minnesota-peggy-flanagan |url-status=live}}</ref>

In December 2020, Joe Biden chose Deb Haaland to serve as [[United States Secretary of the Interior]]; she became the first Native American Cabinet secretary in March 2021.

|[[Ketanji Brown Jackson]]

|53 – 47

|June 30, 2022

|[[Joe Biden]]

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|235|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|49|96|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Republican}} |{{Composition bar|213|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Republican}} |{{Composition bar|47|96|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|232|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|49|96|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|234|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|49|96|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|283|437|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|64|98|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|262|437|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|64|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|258|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|66|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|295|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|68|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|248|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|64|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|243|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|57|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|255|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|54|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|242|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|56|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|291|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|60|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|292|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|61|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|277|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|58|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|243|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Republican}} |{{Composition bar|46|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|269|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Republican}} |{{Composition bar|46|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|253|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Republican}} |{{Composition bar|47|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|258|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|55|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|260|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|55|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|267|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|56|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|258|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|57|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Republican}} |{{Composition bar|204|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Republican}} |{{Composition bar|47|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Republican}} |{{Composition bar|206|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Republican}} |{{Composition bar|45|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Republican}} |{{Composition bar|211|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Republican}} |{{Composition bar|45|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Republican}} |{{Composition bar|212|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Republican}} |{{Composition bar|50|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Republican}} |{{Composition bar|204|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Republican}} |{{Composition bar|49|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Republican}} |{{Composition bar|202|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Republican}} |{{Composition bar|45|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|233|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|51|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|257|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|59|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Republican}} |{{Composition bar|193|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|53|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Republican}} |{{Composition bar|201|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|55|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Republican}} |{{Composition bar|188|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Republican}} |{{Composition bar|46|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Republican}} |{{Composition bar|194|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Republican}} |{{Composition bar|48|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|235|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Republican}} |{{Composition bar|47|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|222|435|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |{{Composition bar|50|100|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

!Presidential ticket

|[[Andrew Jackson]]/[[John C. Calhoun]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|178|261|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[Andrew Jackson]]/[[Martin Van Buren]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|219|286|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[Martin Van Buren]]/[[Richard Mentor Johnson]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|170|294|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[Martin Van Buren]]/''None''{{efn|While there was no official Democratic nominee, the majority of the Democratic electors still cast their electoral votes for incumbent Vice President [[Richard Mentor Johnson]].}}

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|60|294|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[James K. Polk]]/[[George M. Dallas]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|170|275|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[Lewis Cass]]/[[William O. Butler]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|127|290|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[Franklin Pierce]]/[[William R. King]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|254|296|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[James Buchanan]]/[[John C. Breckinridge]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|174|296|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[Stephen A. Douglas]]/[[Herschel Vespasian Johnson|Herschel V. Johnson]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|12|303|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[George B. McClellan]]/[[George H. Pendleton]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|21|233|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[Horatio Seymour]]/[[Francis Preston Blair Jr.]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|80|294|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[Horace Greeley]]/[[Benjamin G. Brown]] ([[Liberal Republican Party (United States)|Liberal Republican]])

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|69|352|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[Samuel J. Tilden]]/[[Thomas A. Hendricks]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|184|369|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[Winfield Scott Hancock]]/[[William H. English]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|155|369|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[Grover Cleveland]]/[[Thomas A. Hendricks]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|219|401|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[Grover Cleveland]]/[[Allen G. Thurman]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|168|401|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[Grover Cleveland]]/[[Adlai Stevenson I]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|277|444|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[William Jennings Bryan]]/[[Arthur Sewall]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|176|447|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[William Jennings Bryan]]/[[Adlai Stevenson I]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|155|447|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[Alton B. Parker]]/[[Henry G. Davis]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|140|476|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[William Jennings Bryan]]/[[John W. Kern]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|162|483|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[Woodrow Wilson]]/[[Thomas R. Marshall]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|435|531|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[Woodrow Wilson]]/[[Thomas R. Marshall]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|277|531|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[James M. Cox]]/[[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|127|531|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[John W. Davis]]/[[Charles W. Bryan]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|136|531|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[Al Smith]]/[[Joseph T. Robinson]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|87|531|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]/[[John Nance Garner]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|472|531|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]/[[John Nance Garner]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|523|531|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]/[[Henry A. Wallace]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|449|531|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]/[[Harry S. Truman]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|432|531|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[Harry S. Truman]]/[[Alben W. Barkley]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|303|531|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[Adlai Stevenson II]]/[[John Sparkman]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|89|531|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[Adlai Stevenson II]]/[[Estes Kefauver]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|73|531|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[John F. Kennedy]]/[[Lyndon B. Johnson]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|303|537|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[Lyndon B. Johnson]]/[[Hubert Humphrey]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|486|538|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[Hubert Humphrey]]/[[Edmund Muskie]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|191|538|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[George McGovern]]/[[Sargent Shriver]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|17|538|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[Jimmy Carter]]/[[Walter Mondale]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|297|538|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}

|[[Jimmy Carter]]/[[Walter Mondale]]

|style="text-align:left;"|{{Composition bar|49|538|hex={{party color|Democratic Party (US)}}}}