Southern Democrats are members of the U.S.
Democratic PartyThe Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world. In the U.S...
who reside in the American South. In the early 1800s, they were the definitive pro-slavery wing of the party, opposed to both the anti-slavery
RepublicansThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP, despite being the younger of the two major parties. In the U.S...
(GOP) and the more liberal Northern Democrats. After losing control of their
partyThe Democratic Party was the de facto single party of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War from February 4, 1861 to May 5, 1865 when Confederate President Jefferson Davis and the Confederate Cabinet met for the last time in Washington, Georgia, and officially dissolved...
and territory in the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
, and during the Republican-led Reconstruction that followed, Southern Democrats regrouped into various vigilante organizations such as the
Ku Klux KlanKu Klux Klan , informally known as The Klan, is the name of several past and present hate group organizations in the United States whose avowed purpose was to protect the rights of and further the interests of white Americans by violence and intimidation. The first such organizations originated in...
and the
White LeagueThe White League was a white paramilitary group which was established in 1874 in Louisiana and operated during Reconstruction. It was described as "the military arm of the Democratic Party" and contributed to its taking over control of the Louisiana Legislature...
. Eventually "
Redemption-In religion:* Redemption , an element of salvation to express deliverance from sin.* Redemption, absolution for the past sins and/or protection from damnation.* Pidyon HaBen, redemption of the firstborn son in Judaism...
" was finalized in the
Compromise of 1877The Compromise of 1877 was an informal, unwritten deal that settled the disputed 1876 U.S. Presidential election. Through it, Republican Rutherford B. Hayes was awarded the White House over Democrat Samuel J. Tilden on the understanding that Hayes would remove the federal troops that were propping...
and the
RedeemersThe "Redeemers" were a political coalition in the Southern United States during the Reconstruction era, who sought to oust the Republican coalition of freedmen, carpetbaggers and scalawags...
gained control throughout the South. As the
New DealThe New Deal was the name that United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave to his complex package of economic programs 1933-36 with the goals of what historians call the 3 Rs, of giving Relief to the unemployed and badly hurt farmers, Reform of business and financial practices, and promoting...
began to liberalize Democrats as a whole, Southern Democrats largely stayed as conservative as they had always been, with some even breaking off to form farther right-wing splinters like the Dixiecrats. After the
Civil Rights MovementThe Civil Rights Movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. It was accompanied by much civil unrest and popular rebellion. The process was long and tenuous in many countries, and most of these movements did not achieve or...
successfully challenged the Jim Crow laws and other forms of institutionalized racism, and after the Democrats as a whole came to symbolize the mainstream left of the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the form, if not the content, of Southern Democratic politics began to change. At that point, most Southern Democrats defected to the Republican Party, and helped accelerate the latter's transformation into a more conservative organization.
After
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, during the civil rights movement, Democrats in the South initially still voted loyally with their party. The signing of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed racial segregation in schools, public places, and employment...
, however, was the last straw for many Southern Democrats, who began voting against Democratic incumbents for GOP candidates. The Republicans carried many Southern states for the first time since before the
Great DepressionThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
.
When
Richard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States and is the only president to resign the office. He was also the 36th Vice President of the United States ....
courted voters with his
Southern StrategyIn American politics, the Southern strategy refers to a purported Republican method of winning Southern states in the latter decades of the 20th century and first decade of the 21st century by exploiting opposition among the segregationist South to desegregation and Civil Rights, and the cultural...
, many Democrats became Republicans and the South became fertile ground for the GOP, which conversely was becoming more conservative as the Democrats were becoming more liberal. However, Democratic incumbents still held sway over voters in many states, especially those of the
Deep SouthThe Deep South is a descriptive category of the cultural and geographic subregions in the American South. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the antebellum period...
. In fact, until the 1980s, Democrats still had much control over Southern politics. It wasn't until the 1990s that Democratic control collapsed, starting with the elections of 1994, in which Republicans gained control of both houses of Congress, through the rest of the decade. Southern Democrats of today who vote the Democratic ticket are mostly urban liberals. Rural residents tend to vote the Republican ticket, although there are a sizable number of conservative Democrats.
A huge portion of Representatives, Senators, and voters who were referred to as
Reagan DemocratReagan Democrat is an American political term used by political analysts to denote traditionally Democratic voters, especially white working-class Northerners, who defected from their party to support Republican President Ronald Reagan in both the 1980 and 1984 elections. It is also used to refer...
s in the 1980s were conservative Southern Democrats. An interesting exception to this trend is
ArkansasArkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquin name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares a border with six states, with its eastern border largely defined by the Mississippi River. Its diverse geography ranges from the mountainous regions of the...
, where to this day all statewide elected officials are Democrats (Although the state has given its electoral votes to the GOP in the past three Presidential elections. In 1992 and 1996, "favorite son" Bill Clinton was the candidate and won each time).
The Democratic Party still has a strong presence in
LouisianaThe State of Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state divided into parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
also, though Republicans have made notable progress there in recent years, most notably with the election of Senator
David VitterDavid Bruce Vitter is the junior United States Senator from Louisiana and a member of the Republican Party. Formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives, first elected in 1999, representing the suburban Louisiana's 1st congressional district, Vitter was elected to the Senate in...
in 2004. Another exception is
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties...
. Despite the fact that the state has voted for Republicans in every presidential election from 1980 until 2004 (the state did however turn blue in 2008), the governorship, legislature, as well as most statewide offices remain in Democratic control, and with the election of Heath Shuler in 2006, the congressional delegation once again is majority Democratic.
Today, Southern Democrats are conservative Democrats who follow the principles of strong foreign policy, fiscal responsibility and support for legislating traditional values.
Early background
The Democrats have their beginnings in the South, going back to the founding of the Democratic-Republican Party in 1793 by
Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States , the principal author of the Declaration of Independence , and one of the most influential Founding Fathers for his promotion of the ideals of republicanism in the United States...
, a
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents. The geography and climate of the state are shaped by the Blue...
n. The party was formed from former Anti-Federalist elements opposed to Federalist policies. After being the dominant party in U.S. politics from 1800 to 1829, the Democratic-Republicans split into two factions by 1828: the federalist
National RepublicansThe National Republicans were a political party in the United States. The party, and its precursor factions of Adams supporters and Anti-Jacksonian politicians, existed from approximately 1825–1833....
, and the Democrats, who made appeals to traditional party principles.
However, by the 1850s, with the crumbling of the
WhigsThe Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from 1833 to 1856, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and the Democratic Party...
, infighting which was kept at bay for years burst out. Northern Democrats were in serious opposition to Southern Democrats on the issue of slavery; Northerners opposed it, and Southerners fiercely defended it. Meanwhile, remaining and former elements of the Whig party were bolting to the newly formed anti-slavery
Republican PartyThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP, despite being the younger of the two major parties. In the U.S...
, which was rapidly gaining influence. In the 1860 presidential election, the Republicans nominated
Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery...
, but the divide among Democrats led to the nomination of two candidates:
John C. BreckinridgeJohn Cabell Breckinridge was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Kentucky and was the 14th Vice President of the United States, to date the youngest vice president in U.S...
of
KentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. Kentucky is a Southern state situated in the Upland South, although the state is infrequently placed, geographically and culturally, in the Midwest. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a...
represented Southern Democrats, and
Stephen A. DouglasStephen Arnold Douglas , son of Stephen Arnold Douglass and Sarah Fisk, was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Democratic Party nominee for President in 1860. He lost to the Republican Party's candidate, Abraham Lincoln, whom he had defeated two years earlier in...
of
IllinoisIllinois , the 21st state admitted to the United States of America, is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern state and the fifth most populous state in the nation...
represented Northern Democrats. This splitting of the Democratic vote led to the election of Lincoln and the demise of the Democrats' antebellum grip on national power.
American Civil War & post-Reconstruction
After the election of
Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery...
, Southern Democrats led the charge to secede from the Union and form the
Confederate States of AmericaThe Confederate States of America was a separatist political entity existing between 1861 to 1865, established by eleven southern slave states of the United States of America, each of which had previously declared their secession from the United States...
. The Congress was dominated by Republicans, save for
Andrew JohnsonAndrew Johnson , the 17th President of the United States , was the first U.S. President to be impeached, as well as the first U.S. president to succeed to the presidency upon the assassination of his predecessor.At the time of the secession of the Southern states, Johnson was a U.S. Senator from...
of
TennesseeTennessee is a state located in the Southeastern United States. According to the 2008 census, it has a population of 6,214,888, an increase of nearly 9.5% since 2000. Tennessee is the 14th fastest growing state in the US and is ranked 17th by population. It is ranked 36th by total land area. In...
, the only senator from a state in rebellion to reject secession. The states of
MissouriMissouri is a state in the Midwest region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. Missouri is the 18th most populous state with a 2008 estimated population of 5,911,605. It comprises 114 counties and one independent city....
, Kentucky, and
DelawareDelaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The state takes its name from Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, a British nobleman and Virginia's first colonial governor, after whom Cape Henlopen was originally named.Delaware is located in...
, despite being Southern Democratic slave states, did not approve secession, and thus remained in the Union. The state of
MarylandMaryland is a state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east. It is comparable in size to the European country of Belgium. According to the U.S...
, dominated by Southern Democrats, and days away from approving secession, was forced to remain in the Union, and so its delegation to Congress did not leave.
After secession, many Northern Democrats fled the party to join the Republicans. When the war was over, and the Confederacy destroyed, a deep resentment among
whiteWhite people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
Southern citizens toward Republicans helped propel the Democratic Party to a majority in Congress by the 1870s and bring an end to Reconstruction. The Democrats were now the party of states rights, the party of the South, and would remain that way until the mid-1960s. Their dominance in Southern politics would give rise to the phrase "
Solid SouthSolid South refers to the electoral support of the Southern United States for the Democratic Party candidates for nearly a century from 1877, the end of the Reconstruction, to 1964, during the middle of the Civil Rights era....
".
At the beginning of the 20th century the Democrats, led by the dominant Southern wing, had the majority in both houses of Congress. In 1912 incumbent Republican
William Howard TaftWilliam Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the 10th Chief Justice of the United States....
was defeated in an electoral landslide, losing to
Woodrow WilsonThomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States. A leading intellectual of the Progressive Era, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
, a Democrat from
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
(Though he was Southern and thus a
parachute candidateA parachute candidate, also known as a “carpetbagger” in the United States, is a pejorative term for an election candidate who does not live in and has little connection to the area he or she is running to represent...
). And from 1912 through 1918, the three branches of government were controlled by the Democratic Party. However when the U.S. entered
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
in 1917, and with
isolationismIsolationism is a foreign policy which combines a non-interventionist military policy and a political policy of economic nationalism...
running high, the Republicans ran the 1918 elections on a platform of
pacifismPacifism is the opposition to war or violence as a means of settling disputes or gaining advantage. Pacifism covers a spectrum of views ranging from the belief that international disputes can and should be peacefully resolved; to calls for the abolition of the institutions of the military and war;...
and rejection of the
internationalistInternationalism is a political movement which advocates a greater economic and political cooperation among nations for the theoretical benefit of all...
sentiment favored by Wilson. (See U.S. House election, 1918 and U.S. Senate election, 1918) The Democrats lost the Congress, and in 1920, Warren Harding was elected president in a landslide, which was widely viewed as a repudiation of Wilson's policies.
From 1918 until 1932, the Democrats were relegated to second place status in politics, controlling no branch of the government. However, with the Stock Market Crash of 1929, Republicans lost the Congress in 1930 and the White House in 1932 by huge margins. By this time, however, the Democratic Party leadership began to change its tone somewhat. With the
Great DepressionThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
gripping the nation, and with the lives of most Americans disrupted, the assisting of African-Americans in American society was seen as necessary by the new government.
Franklin RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , the only U.S. President elected to more than two terms, was a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
's
New DealThe New Deal was the name that United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave to his complex package of economic programs 1933-36 with the goals of what historians call the 3 Rs, of giving Relief to the unemployed and badly hurt farmers, Reform of business and financial practices, and promoting...
program would unite the different party factions for over three decades, since Southerners, like Northern urban populations, were hit particularly hard and generally benefited from the massive governmental relief program. It was the
Civil Rights MovementThe Civil Rights Movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. It was accompanied by much civil unrest and popular rebellion. The process was long and tenuous in many countries, and most of these movements did not achieve or...
of the 1960s that finally put an end to this coalition of interests.
Notable modern and former Southern Democrats
- Huey P. Long, Governor, Senator from the "Great State of Louisiana" (a term he coined)
- Earl Long
Earl Kemp Long was an American politician and three-time Democratic governor of Louisiana, who termed himself the "last of the red hot poppas" of politics, referring to his stump-speaking skills...
, three-term Governor, Louisiana. Paul Newman played him in the movie Blaze regarding the life of Blaze StarrBlaze Starr is an American former stripper and burlesque star. Her vivacious presence and inventive use of stage props earned her the nickname "The Hottest Blaze in Burlesque"...
- Lloyd Bentsen
Lloyd Millard Bentsen, Jr. was a four-term United States senator from Texas and the Democratic Party nominee for Vice President in 1988 on the Michael Dukakis ticket. He also served in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1955. In his later political life, he was Chairman of the Senate...
, U.S. Senator from Texas and former Secretary of the Treasury
- Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Finis Davis was an American politician who served as President of the Confederate States of America for its entire history, 1861 to 1865, during the American Civil War....
, U.S. Senator from Mississippi, President of Confederacy
- James O. Eastland, former U.S. Senator from Mississippi
- John R. Edwards
Johnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician who served one term as U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth...
, former U.S. Senator from North Carolina
- D. Robert Graham
Daniel Robert "Bob" Graham is an American politician. He was the governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States Senator from that state from 1987 to 2005...
, former U.S. Senator from Florida and former Governor of Florida
- Richard Russell
Richard Russell may refer to:*Richard Russell, Sr. , United States judge and chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court*Richard Russell, Jr. , his son, governor and U.S. Senator from Georgia...
, former U.S. Senator from Georgia
- Lawton Chiles
Lawton Mainor Chiles, Jr. was an American politician from the U.S. state of Florida. In a career spanning four decades, Chiles, a Democrat who never lost an election, served in the Florida House of Representatives , the Florida State Senate , the United States Senate , and as the forty-first...
, former U.S. Senator from Florida and Governor of Florida.
- Estes Kefauver
Carey Estes Kefauver was an American politician from Tennessee who opposed the concentration of economic and political power under the control of a wealthy, exclusive elite and favored racial equality. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1939 to...
, former U.S. Senator from Tennessee and 1956 Democratic Vice Presidential nominee.
- Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , served as the 36th President of the United States from 1963 to 1969 after his service as the Vice President of the United States from 1961 to 1963...
, U.S. Senator from Texas and President of the United StatesThe President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
(1963-1969)
- Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981 and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, Governor of Georgia and President of the United States (1977-1981)
- Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was the third-youngest president; only Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy were younger when entering office...
, Governor of Arkansas and President of the United States (1993-2001)
- Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. is an American environmental activist and former politician who served as the 45th Vice President of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He is an author, businessperson, former U.S. Senator and former journalist...
, U.S. Senator from Tennessee and Vice President of the United States (1993-2001)
- Paul Patton
Paul E. Patton served as Democratic governor of Kentucky from 1995 to 2003. He is a Presbyterian, and lives in Pikeville, Kentucky.Patton was born in Fallsburg, which is in Lawrence County, Kentucky. In 1959, he received his B.S...
, former Governor of Kentucky
- J. William Fulbright
James William Fulbright was a United States Senator representing Arkansas from 1945 to 1975.Fulbright was a Southern Democrat and a staunch multilateralist, supported the creation of the United Nations and opposed the House Un-American Activities Committee...
, former U.S. Senator from Arkansas and longest-served chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
- Sam Rayburn
Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn , often called "Mr. Sam," was a Democratic lawmaker from Bonham, Texas, who served as the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives for seventeen years, the longest tenure in U.S...
, former Congressman from Texas and longest-served Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
- Sam Nunn
Samuel Augustus Nunn, Jr. is an American lawyer and politician. Currently the co-chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative , a charitable organization working to reduce the global threats from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, Nunn served for 24 years as a...
, former U.S. Senator from Georgia
- Max Cleland
Joseph Maxwell Cleland is an American politician from Georgia. Cleland, a Democrat, is a former U.S. Senator, disabled US Army veteran of the Vietnam War, decorated war hero, and a critic of the Bush Administration. From 2003 to 2007, he served on the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank...
, former U.S. Senator from Georgia
- James Hovis Hodges, former Governor of South Carolina
- Fritz Hollings, former U.S. Senator from South Carolina and former Governor of South Carolina.
- Olin D. Johnston
Olin DeWitt Talmadge Johnston was a Democratic Party politician from the U.S. State of South Carolina. He served twice as governor of South Carolina, 1935-1939 and 1943-1945, and represented the state in the United States Senate from 1945 until his death in 1965.-Early Life, Military Involvement,...
, former U.S. Senator from South Carolina and former Governor of South Carolina.
- James F. Byrnes
James Francis Byrnes was an American statesman from the state of South Carolina. During his career, Byrnes served as a member of the House of Representatives , as a Senator , as Justice of the Supreme Court , as Secretary of State , and as Governor of South Carolina...
, former U.S. Secretary of State, former Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, former U.S. Senator, former Governor of South Carolina
- John Stennis, former U.S. Senator from Mississippi
- John McClellan
John Little McClellan was a Democratic Party politician from Arkansas. He represented Arkansas in the United States Senate from 1943 until 1977. He also earlier represented Arkansas in the United States House of Representatives.-Early life:McClellan was born in Sheridan, Grant County, Arkansas...
, former U.S. Senator from Arkansas
- Spessard Holland
Spessard Lindsey Holland was an American politician. He was the 28th governor of Florida from 1941 until 1945, during World War II. After finishing his term as governor, he was a United States Senator from Florida from 1946 until 1971...
, former U.S. Senator from Florida and former Governor of Florida.
- Reubin Askew, former Governor of Florida
- Phil Bredesen
Phil Bredesen is the 48th Governor of Tennessee and a Democrat, first elected in 2002. He previously served as the fourth mayor of Nashville and Davidson County from 1991 to 1999.-Background:...
, Governor of Tennessee
- Kathleen Blanco
Kathleen Babineaux Blanco is a former Democratic Governor of Louisiana, having served from January 2004 until January 2008...
, Governor of Louisiana
- Roy Barnes
Roy Eugene Barnes was the governor of the U.S. state of Georgia from January 1999 until January 2003. He is a member of the United States Democratic Party.-Biography:...
, former Governor of Georgia
- Blanche Lincoln
Blanche Lambert Lincoln is a United States Senator from the State of Arkansas and a member of the Democratic Party. In 1998, at 38, Lincoln became the youngest woman elected to the U.S. Senate. She is the second female senator from Arkansas, after Hattie Caraway...
, U.S. Senator from Arkansas
- Mark Pryor
Mark Lunsford Pryor is an American politician and the junior United States Senator from Arkansas, serving since 2003. A member of the Democratic Party, he holds the same seat in the U.S...
, U.S. Senator from Arkansas
- David Pryor
David Hampton Pryor was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives and United States Senator from the State of Arkansas. Pryor also served as Governor of Arkansas from 1975 to 1979 and was a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1960 to 1966...
, former U.S. Senator from Arkansas and former Governor of Arkansas
- Dale Bumpers
Dale Leon Bumpers is an American politician who served as Governor of Arkansas from 1971 to 1975; and then in the United States Senate from 1975 until his retirement in January 1999. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Senator Bumpers is currently counsel at the Washington, D.C...
, former U.S. Senator from Arkansas and former Governor of Arkansas
- Alben Barkley, former U.S. Senator from Kentucky and U.S. Vice President
- J. Bennett Johnston, former U.S. Senator from Louisiana
- Mary Landrieu
Mary Loretta Landrieu is the senior United States Senator from the State of Louisiana, and is the second woman elected to the U.S. Senate for Louisiana...
, U.S. Senator from Louisiana
- John Breaux
John Berlinger Breaux is a former United States senator from Louisiana who served from 1987 until 2005. He was also a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1972 to 1987. He was considered one of the more Conservative national legislators from the Democratic Party...
, former U.S. Senator from Louisiana
- Edwin Edwards
Edwin Washington Edwards served as the Democratic governor of Louisiana for four terms , twice as many terms as any other Louisiana governor has served. Edwards was also Louisiana's first Catholic governor in the twentieth century...
, former Governor of Louisiana
- Zell B. Miller
Zell Bryan Miller is an American politician from the U.S. state of Georgia. A Democrat, Miller served as Lieutenant Governor from 1975 to 1991, Governor of Georgia from 1991 to 1999, and as United States Senator from 2000 to 2005....
, U.S. Senator from Georgia
- Terry Sanford
James Terry Sanford was a United States politician and educator from North Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, Sanford was the Governor of North Carolina , a two-time U.S. Presidential candidate in the 1970s and a U.S. Senator...
, U.S. Senator/Governor from North Carolina
- Kay Hagan, U.S. Senator from North Carolina
- Richard Shelby
Richard Craig Shelby is the senior U.S. Senator from Alabama. Originally elected to the Senate as a Democrat, Shelby switched to the Republican Party in 1994 when it gained the majority in Congress.-Background:...
, U.S. Senator from Alabama (now Republican)
- J. Strom Thurmond
James Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served as governor of South Carolina and as a United States Senator. He also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1948 as the segregationist States Rights Democratic Party candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral...
, U.S. Senator from South Carolina (Democrat until 1964)
- Mark R. Warner, Current U.S. Senator of Virginia, former governor
- Douglas Wilder
Lawrence Douglas Wilder is an American politician, the first African American to be elected as governor of a U.S. state, and the second to serve as governor. Wilder served as Governor of Virginia from 1990 to 1994. When earlier elected as Lieutenant Governor, he was the first African American...
, Virginia Governor, first African-American elected Governor in the U.S.
- Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States. A leading intellectual of the Progressive Era, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
, former New Jersey Governor (originally from Virginia), President
- Ralph Yarborough
Ralph Webster Yarborough was a Texas Democratic politician who served in the United States Senate and was a leader of the progressive or liberal wing of his party in his many races for statewide office. As a U.S...
, U.S. Senator from Texas
- Sonny Perdue
Sonny Perdue is the governor of the U.S. state of Georgia. Upon his inauguration in January 2003, he became the first Republican governor of Georgia since Benjamin F. Conley served during Reconstruction in the 1870s....
, current Governor of Georgia (now Republican)
- Robert Byrd
Robert Carlyle Byrd is the senior United States Senator from West Virginia, and a member and former Senate Leader of the Democratic Party. Byrd has been a Senator since January 3, 1959 and is the longest-serving member in the Senate's history; he has been the Dean of the Senate since 2003...
, West Virginia Senator and presidential candidate, 1976
- Bill Nelson
Clarence William "Bill" Nelson is the senior U.S. Senator from Florida. Nelson is a member of the Democratic Party. Nelson became the second sitting member of the United States Congress to fly in space when he flew aboard the as a Payload Specialist during NASA mission STS-61-C...
, senior U.S. Senator from Florida
- Howell Heflin
Howell Thomas Heflin was a United States Senator from Alabama, and a member of the Democratic Party.-Biography:...
, former senator from AlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States of America. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its...
.
- Mike Beebe
Mickey Dale Beebe is the current Governor of Arkansas and a Democrat.-Early life:Beebe was born in Amagon, a small town in Jackson County, Arkansas. He was raised by his mother, a waitress, and never met his father. As a child, he moved often with his family. They lived in Detroit, St. Louis,...
, Governor of Arkansas.
- George C. Wallace, governor of Alabama
- Lester Maddox
Lester Garfield Maddox was an American Democratic Party politician who was governor of the U.S. state of Georgia from 1967 to 1971....
, former governor of Georgia
- Joseph Manchin III
Joseph "Joe" Manchin III is an American politician from the State of West Virginia. Manchin was elected Governor of West Virginia in the 2004 election and took office on January 17, 2005; he was reelected in 2008...
, current governor of West Virginia and current Southern Governors' Association chairman
- Wendell Ford, former Governor and Senator from Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. Kentucky is a Southern state situated in the Upland South, although the state is infrequently placed, geographically and culturally, in the Midwest. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a...
- A.B. "Happy" Chandler, former Governor and Senator from Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. Kentucky is a Southern state situated in the Upland South, although the state is infrequently placed, geographically and culturally, in the Midwest. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a...
; former Commissioner of Baseball.
- Steve Beshear
Steven Lynn "Steve" Beshear is an American politician who has been Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky since 2007...
, Governor of Kentucky
- Martha Layne Collins
Martha Layne Collins was Governor of the U.S. State of Kentucky from 1983 through 1987; she is a member of the Democratic Party...
, former Governor of KentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. Kentucky is a Southern state situated in the Upland South, although the state is infrequently placed, geographically and culturally, in the Midwest. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a...
and one time Chairman of the Democratic National ConventionThe Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
- Ben Chandler
Albert Benjamin "Ben" Chandler III is an American politician from Kentucky. He is the member of the House of Representatives for and was first elected in 2004.Chandler was born in Versailles, Kentucky. He received a BA and a J.D...
, former Attorney General of Kentucky and current Congressman from Kentucky.
- Larry McDonald
Lawrence Patton McDonald was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the seventh congressional district of Georgia as a Democrat. He was a passenger on board Korean Air Flight 007 shot down by Soviet interceptors and presumed dead. He was a...
, Former conservative Democrat representative from Georgia, the only sitting member of congress to be killed by the Soviets during the Cold War, passenger on Korean Air Lines Flight 007 shot down by the Soviets on Sept. 1, 1983
- Tim Kaine
Timothy Michael "Tim" Kaine is an American politician, the current governor of Virginia and as of January 21, 2009, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He was elected governor in 2005, after serving as Lieutenant Governor of Virginia and Mayor of Richmond, Virginia...
, current Governor of VirginiaThe Governor of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. The position is currently held by Democrat Tim Kaine.- Qualifications :...
and Chairman of the DNC
See also
- Blue Dog Democrats
- Boll weevil (politics)
Boll weevils was an American political term used in the mid- and late-20th century to describe conservative Southern Democrats.During and after the administration of Franklin D...
- Conservative Democrat
In American politics, a conservative Democrat is a Democratic Party member with conservative political views, or with views relatively conservative with respect to those of the national party...
- Dixiecrat
The States' Rights Democratic Party was a segregationist, socially conservative political party in the United States. The term Dixiecrat is a portmanteau of Dixie, referring to the Southern United States, and Democrat, referring to the United States Democratic Party...
- Yellow dog Democrat
Yellow Dog Democrats was a term applied to U.S. Southern voters who voted solely for Democratic candidates, with the term commencing in the late 19th century. Due to Republican president Abraham Lincoln's leading the Union against the Confederacy, these voters would allegedly "vote for a yellow...
s
- Democratic Party
The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world. In the U.S...