The Oklahoma Democratic Party is an Oklahoma political party affiliated with the Democratic Party. Along with the Oklahoma Republican Party, it is one of the two major parties in the state.
Oklahoma Democratic Party | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairwoman | Alicia Andrews[1] |
| Senate leader | Julia Kirt |
| House leader | Cyndi Munson |
| Interim Executive Director | Lauren Craig |
| Founded | 1907 |
| Headquarters | 3815 N Santa Fe Ave., Suite 122 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73118 |
| Youth wing | Young Democrats of Oklahoma |
| Membership (2023) |  656,017[2] |
| Ideology | Modern liberalism |
| National affiliation | Democratic Party |
| Unofficial colors | Blue |
| Statewide Executive Offices | 0 / 12
|
| Seats in the United States Senate | 0 / 2
|
| Seats in the United States House of Representatives | 0 / 5
|
| Seats in Oklahoma Senate | 8 / 48
|
| Seats in Oklahoma House of Representatives | 20 / 101
|
| Tribal Chiefs | 2 / 5
|
| Election symbol | |
 | |
| Website | |
| www | |
The party dominated local politics in Oklahoma almost since the days of early statehood in 1907 to 1994. In national politics, the party became a dominant force beginning with the presidential election of 1932 and the Franklin D. Roosevelt political re-alignment. From 1932 to 1994, the majority of members of Congress from Oklahoma have been Democrats, and of the 28 men and women who have been elected to the office of Governor of Oklahoma, 22 have been Democrats.[3]
However, the party has fared poorly since 1994; Democrats lost five out of six congressional races that year. Since then, they have won only a handful of seats, which they no longer hold. In response, the traditionally disorganized Oklahoma Democrats have taken steps to create a more organized state party, hiring a professional executive director in 1995.[4] Even so, Democrats continued to lose ground in the 2000s, losing control of both the Oklahoma House of Representatives and the Oklahoma Senate. In 2008, Oklahoma gave the lowest percentage of any state's vote to national Democrat Barack Obama in the presidential election.
As of January 15, 2021, there are 748,222 registered Democratic voters in Oklahoma.[5]
In 2018, Kendra Horn defeated incumbent Republican congressman Steve Russell, to become the first Democrat elected to Congress from Oklahoma since 2010. She lost reelection to Republican challenger Stephanie Bice in 2020.
History
editStatehood and the 20th Century
editThe Oklahoma Democratic Party once dominated state politics for much of Oklahoma history from with its strength in greatest concentrations in Oklahoma's 5th congressional district and the southeastern part of the state.[4]
Upon statehood, all but one of the Congressional seats was held by Democrats. The Democrats won eighteen of the twenty-one gubernatorial elections since its statehood in 1907. The Democratic Party held on average 81 percent of the seats in the state legislature between 1907 and 1973.[6] With the onset of the Great Depression, the party gained even more influence for several decades
Democratic opposition to deficit spending in the late 1930s marked a growing conservative movement in the party, which led to a 1941 constitutional amendment requiring legislators to pass a balanced budget.[7]
After the federal Voting Rights Act and congressional reapportionment in Oklahoma in the 1960s, black state lawmakers returned to the Oklahoma Legislature, this time many aligning with the Democratic Party and hailing from Tulsa or Oklahoma City.[8]
Since the 1980s the party has seen a decline as Christian fundamentalists have shifted to the Republican Party. The Democratic Party has not attained more than 41 percent of the vote for president.
21st Century
editAs of 2000 about 55 percent of Oklahoma voters registered as Democrats.[4] The party continues to decline in strength in both the Oklahoma Legislature and executive branch. For the first time since statehood, Republicans held all statewide-elected offices starting in 2011.
In the 2012 general election, the party was successful in defending all incumbents in the Oklahoma Legislature and defeating two Republican House members.
In the 2020 Oklahoma elections, Democrat Mauree Turner became the first Muslim Oklahoma state legislator and the first publicly non-binary U.S. state legislator in the United States.[9]
In the 2024 Tulsa Mayoral election, Monroe Nichols made history as Tulsa's first African-American mayor and its first Democratic mayor since 2006
Electoral history
edit| Election year | No. of House seats |
+/– | Governorship | No. of Senate seats |
+/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1907 | 85 / 101
|
16
|
Charles N. Haskell | 42 / 48
|
6
|
| 1908 | 62 / 101
|
23
|
38 / 48
|
4
| |
| 1910 | 75 / 101
|
 13
|
Lee Cruce | 35 / 48
|
3
|
| 1912 | 82 / 101
|
7
|
38 / 48
|
3
| |
| 1914 | 83 / 101
|
1
|
Robert L. Williams | 42 / 48
|
4
|
| 1916 | 75 / 101
|
6
|
43 / 48
|
1
| |
| 1918 | 71 / 101
|
4
|
James B.A. Robertson | 38 / 48
|
6
|
| 1920 | 28 / 101
|
43
|
31 / 48
|
7
| |
| 1922 | 87 / 101
|
59
|
Jack C. Walton | 36 / 48
|
5
|
| 1924 | 77 / 101
|
10
|
Martin Trapp | 42 / 48
|
6
|
| 1926 | 79 / 101
|
2
|
Henry S. Johnston | 39 / 48
|
3
|
| 1928 | 54 / 101
|
25
|
38 / 48
|
1
| |
| 1930 | 91 / 101
|
37
|
William H. Murray | 36 / 48
|
2
|
| 1932 | 97 / 101
|
6
|
43 / 48
|
7
| |
| 1934 | 94 / 101
|
3
|
E.W. Marland | 47 / 48
|
4
|
| 1936 | 98 / 101
|
4
|
48 / 48
|
1
| |
| 1938 | 88 / 101
|
10
|
Leon C. Phillips | 47 / 48
|
1
|
| 1940 | 94 / 101
|
6
|
46 / 48
|
1
| |
| 1942 | 77 / 101
|
17
|
Robert S. Kerr | 44 / 48
|
2
|
| 1944 | 79 / 101
|
2
|
42 / 48
|
2
| |
| 1946 | 79 / 101
|
 0
|
Roy J. Turner | 42 / 48
|
0
|
| 1948 | 89 / 101
|
10
|
43 / 48
|
1
| |
| 1950 | 81 / 101
|
8
|
Johnston Murray | 44 / 48
|
1
|
| 1952 | 88 / 101
|
7
|
42 / 48
|
2
| |
| 1954 | 82 / 101
|
6
|
Raymond D. Gary | 43 / 48
|
1
|
| 1956 | 81 / 101
|
1
|
45 / 48
|
2
| |
| 1958 | 91 / 101
|
10
|
J. Howard Edmondson | 45 / 48
|
0
|
| 1960 | 88 / 101
|
3
|
44 / 48
|
1
| |
| 1962 | 77 / 101
|
11
|
Henry Bellmon | 42 / 48
|
2
|
| 1964 | 79 / 101
|
2
|
41 / 48
|
1
| |
| 1966 | 78 / 101
|
1
|
Dewey F. Bartlett | 39 / 48
|
2
|
| 1968 | 79 / 101
|
1
|
38 / 48
|
1
| |
| 1970 | 79 / 101
|
0
|
David Hall | 39 / 48
|
1
|
| 1972 | 78 / 101
|
1
|
38 / 48
|
1
| |
| 1974 | 78 / 101
|
0
|
David L. Boren | 38 / 48
|
0
|
| 1976 | 81 / 101
|
3
|
38 / 48
|
0
| |
| 1978 | 77 / 101
|
4
|
George Nigh | 37 / 48
|
1
|
| 1980 | 75 / 101
|
2
|
36 / 48
|
1
| |
| 1982 | 75 / 101
|
0
|
34 / 48
|
2
| |
| 1984 | 69 / 101
|
6
|
34 / 48
|
0
| |
| 1986 | 70 / 101
|
1
|
Henry Bellmon | 31 / 48
|
3
|
| 1988 | 69 / 101
|
1
|
34 / 48
|
3
| |
| 1990 | 67 / 101
|
2
|
David Walters | 36 / 48
|
2
|
| 1992 | 67 / 101
|
0
|
35 / 48
|
1
| |
| 1994 | 60 / 101
|
7
|
Frank Keating | 31 / 48
|
4
|
| 1996 | 59 / 101
|
1
|
29 / 48
|
2
| |
| 1998 | 59 / 101
|
0
|
29 / 48
|
0
| |
| 2000 | 53 / 101
|
6
|
27 / 48
|
2
| |
| 2002 | 54 / 101
|
1
|
Brad Henry | 26 / 48
|
1
|
| 2004 | 55 / 101
|
1
|
26 / 48
|
0
| |
| 2006 | 44 / 101
|
11
|
24 / 48
|
2
| |
| 2008 | 40 / 101
|
4
|
22 / 48
|
2
| |
| 2010 | 31 / 101
|
9
|
Mary Fallin | 16 / 48
|
6
|
| 2012 | 29 / 101
|
2
|
12 / 48
|
4
| |
| 2014 | 29 / 101
|
0
|
8 / 48
|
4
| |
| 2016 | 26 / 101
|
3
|
8 / 48
|
0
| |
| 2018 | 25 / 101
|
1
|
Kevin Stitt | 9 / 48
|
1
|
| 2020 | 20 / 101
|
5
|
9 / 48
|
0
| |
| 2022 | 21 / 101
|
1
|
8 / 48
|
1
|
Note: Lieutenant Governor Jari Askins provided tie breaking vote in the State Senate following the 2006 elections, giving Democrats a majority
Current structure and composition
editThe Oklahoma Democratic Party headquarters is located North Santa Fe Avenue in Oklahoma City.[10] They host the biennial state conventions in June of odd-numbered years, in which they elect executive officers and delegates to the Democratic National Committee. The Democratic National Committee is responsible for promoting Democratic campaign activities, overseeing the process of writing the national Democratic Platform, and supervising the Democratic National Convention. Delegates serve four-year terms concurrent with presidential elections.
Alicia Andrews, the first African American and African American Woman chair was re-elected for a third term in June, 2023. Former state Representative of House District 34, Cory Williams was elected vice chair.[11] Former Governor David Walters and Kalyn Free are delegates for the Democratic National Committee.[11]
The state party coordinates campaign activities with Democratic candidates and county parties, and officers who correspond with the state's five Congressional districts. In 2005, the Democratic National Committee began a program called the "50 State Strategy" of using national funds to assist all state parties and pay for full-time professional staffers.[12]
The Young Democrats of Oklahoma is the official age 13-35 division of the Oklahoma Democratic Party.[13]
Officers and Staff
editOfficers:
- Chair, Alicia Andrews[14]
- Vice Chair, Cory Williams[14]
- Secretary, Nana Dankwa[14]
- Treasurer, Rachael Hunsucker[14]
Staff:
Ideology
editThe Oklahoma Democratic Party is made up of conservative, centrist and liberal members. Less than a third of registered Democratic voters in Oklahoma supported President Barack Obama in 2012, due to the larger proliferation of conservative and centrist members of the party.[20]
Compared to other Democratic factions, Centrist members of the Oklahoma Democratic Party support the use of military force and the use of deadly force in self-defense. They are more willing to reduce government welfare. Many Oklahoma Democrats are socially conservative by supporting the United States pro-life movement and traditional marriage. The Oklahoma Democratic Party tends to support moderate to conservative positions on gun control and open carry.
The Oklahoma Democratic Party held a state convention on May 14, 2011, in which they discussed a number of platform positions.[21] Participants discussed support for public health programs, government-funded embryonic stem cell research, the legalization of medical marijuana, education funding, and opposition to voucher programs that divert tax dollars to private institutions.[21] They also discussed the state party's support of teacher's rights to unionize and policies to protect homeowners from unfair foreclosures.[21] Other party platform positions included support for the elimination of predatory lending practices, support for limitations on credit card interest rates, support for the elimination of the state sales tax on food, support for increasing taxes on the wealthiest citizens of Oklahoma, and support for reforms to the state criminal justice system.[21] The party's position on gun laws was moderate, stating support for limited, but responsible gun laws.[21] The party also supports continued investments in green energies.[21]
Current elected officials
editDemocrats haven’t won the Oklahoma House of Representatives since 2002 nor the Oklahoma State Senate since 2006, when they last won any statewide election (with Democrats winning most statewide executive offices on the ballot that year). The last Democrat to hold statewide office in Oklahoma is Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister, who switched parties from Republican to Democrat in October 2021 and subsequently left office in January 2023, having been term limited and unsuccessfully ran for Governor of Oklahoma in 2022. She was succeeded by Republican Ryan Walters. At least 2 of the current chiefs of the 5 Tribes are Democrats: Chuck Hoskin Jr. (Cherokee Nation), and Bill Anoatubby (Chickasaw Nation). Oklahoma’s congressional delegation has been entirely Republican since 2021 and previously from 2013 to 2019.
State Legislative leadership
edit- Senate Minority Leader: Julia Kirt[22]
- House Minority Leader: Cyndi Munson
- House Minority Whip: Mickey Dollens
City officials
editDemocratic Governors
editAs of 2022[update], there have been a total of 22 Democratic Party Governors.
| # | Name | Picture | Lifespan | Gubernatorial start date |
Gubernatorial end date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles N. Haskell | .jpg)
|
1860–1933 | November 16, 1907 | January 9, 1911 |
| 2 | Lee Cruce | 
|
1863–1933 | January 9, 1911 | January 11, 1915 |
| 3 | Robert L. Williams | 
|
1868–1948 | January 11, 1915 | January 13, 1919 |
| 4 | James B. A. Robertson | 1871–1938 | January 13, 1919 | January 8, 1923 | |
| 5 | Jack C. Walton | 
|
1881–1949 | January 8, 1923 | November 19, 1923 |
| 6 | Martin E. Trapp | 
|
1877–1951 | November 19, 1923 | January 10, 1927 |
| 7 | Henry S. Johnston | 1867–1965 | January 10, 1927 | March 20, 1929 | |
| 8 | William J. Holloway | 
|
1888–1970 | March 20, 1929 | January 12, 1931 |
| 9 | William H. Murray | 
|
1869–1956 | January 12, 1931 | January 14, 1935 |
| 10 | E. W. Marland | .jpg)
|
1874–1941 | January 15, 1935 | January 9, 1939 |
| 11 | Leon C. Phillips | 1890–1958 | January 9, 1939 | January 11, 1943 | |
| 12 | Robert S. Kerr | 
|
1896–1963 | January 11, 1943 | January 13, 1947 |
| 13 | Roy J. Turner | 
|
1894–1973 | January 13, 1947 | January 8, 1951 |
| 14 | Johnston Murray | 
|
1902–1974 | January 8, 1951 | January 10, 1955 |
| 15 | Raymond D. Gary | 
|
1908–1993 | January 10, 1955 | January 12, 1959 |
| 16 | J. Howard Edmondson | 
|
1925–1971 | January 12, 1959 | January 6, 1963 |
| 17 | George Nigh |
|
1927– | January 6, 1963 | January 14, 1963 |
| 20 | David Hall | .jpg)
|
1930–2016 | January 11, 1971 | January 13, 1975 |
| 21 | David Boren | .png)
|
1941– | January 13, 1975 | January 8, 1979 |
| 22 | George Nigh | .jpg)
|
1927– | January 8, 1979 | January 12, 1987 |
| 24 | David Walters | 
|
1951– | January 14, 1991 | January 9, 1995 |
| 26 | Brad Henry | 
|
1963– | January 13, 2003 | January 10, 2011 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "The ODP Makes History Again – Elects First African American Chairwoman". 10 June 2019.
- ^ "Voter Registration Statistics" (PDF). Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ Oklahoma Government, Oklahoma Historical Society (accessed February 11, 2010).
- ^ a b c Gaddie, Ronald Keith. (2011-11-07). "Democratic Party". Oklahoma Historical Society.
- ^ State Election Board Releases Annual Voter Registration Statistics, Oklahoma State Election Board (accessed 21 June 2021)
- ^ Carney, George O., "McGuire, George O. (1865-1930)," Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture Archived May 31, 2010, at the Wayback Machine (accessed May 28, 2010).
- ^ Everett, Dianna. Budget-Balancing Amendment Archived 2012-11-19 at the Wayback Machine, Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture (accessed May 11, 2013)
- ^ Franklin, Jimmie Lewis. African Americans Archived 2012-11-03 at the Wayback Machine, Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture Archived April 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine (accessed May 11, 2013)
- ^ Forman, Carmen (16 April 2021). "Rep. Mauree Turner is 'comfortable with being uncomfortable' in Oklahoma's Legislature". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
- ^ Contact Us, Oklahoma Democratic Party (accessed February 11, 2010).
- ^ a b State Central Committee, Oklahoma Democratic Party (accessed February 11, 2010).
- ^ Gilgoff, Dan (16 July 2006). "Dean's List". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on July 9, 2012. Retrieved April 26, 2007.
- ^ Ydoklahoma.com (accessed May 11, 2013)
- ^ a b c d "State Central Committee".
- ^ "ABOUT". OK Democratic Party. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
- ^ "ABOUT". OK Democratic Party. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
- ^ "ABOUT". OK Democratic Party. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
- ^ "ABOUT". OK Democratic Party. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
- ^ "ABOUT". OK Democratic Party. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
- ^ 2012 Election Analysis: Obama and Oklahoma Democrats, Soonerpoll.com (accessed May 11, 2013)
- ^ a b c d e f Baggett, James. "Oklahoma Democrats." 2011 Convention: Rules, Resolutions, Affirmative Action Committee members (two men and two women); to consider proposed Minutes from 2009. Oklahoma Democrats, n.d. Web. 7 Nov. 2011. <http://www.okdemocrats.org 2011-convention-rules-resolutions-minutes-from-2009>.
- ^ "Kay Floyd | Oklahoma Senate".