Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of the two biggest political parties in the United States. Since the mid-1850's, the party's main opponent has been the Republican Party. Both political parties have controlled American politics ever since.

Overview
The party sits at the center to center-left of the American political spectrum, with the Republican Party being positioned to their right.

Every four years, the party holds a National Convention where they agree on their candidate for president. The Democratic National Committee coordinates most of the activities of the Democratic Party in all 50 United States. Since Andrew Jackson's inauguration in 1829, there have been 16 Democratic presidents. The most recent is Joe Biden who took office as the 46th president of the United States in January 2021. The Democratic Party represents a broad spectrum of liberal and left-wing ideologies, including but not limited to classical liberalism, social democracy, progressivism, and social modern liberalism.

Philosophy
Democrats, also sometimes called the left, liberals or progressives make up one of the two main political parties in the United States. A state where most voters vote for Democratic politicians is called a blue state. This comes from the party’s main color, which is blue, referring to a state supporting "blue" candidates.
Role of government
Democrats believe in a strong government with social assistance programs to help members of society. They prefer diplomatic solutions to conflicts, and take generally multilateralist views on trade, believing that trade must be free, but fair to protect American workers, consumers, local communities, and the environment. Some Democrats are economic centrists.

Social issues
Socially, most Democrats believe in sociocultural liberalism, taking pro-immigration, pro-marriage equality, and pro-choice views.* 




 Democratic beliefs
Currently, the Democratic Party is identified by progressivism, liberalism, and left-wing policies. Not all Democrats hold the same beliefs, but generally these are the things many Democrats support:

 Progressive income tax
 Higher corporate taxes and recapturing income from overseas profits
 Spending on business, education, infrastructure and clean energy
 Expanding spending on government programs
 Ending the death penalty
 Expanding rights to abortion
 Gun regulations to prevent citizens from hurting themselves and others with firearms
 Support same-sex marriage
 Universal healthcare
 Declare Washington D.C. an official state
 Helping students go to college or university for free without having to pay back the government
 Support Reparations
 Believe in allowing undocumented immigrants to work for their U.S Citizenship in the U.S. to stay, pay taxes, and oppose mass deportation

Most supporters for the Democratic Party come from states in the Northeast, Upper Midwest, and the Pacific Coast areas of the US, as well as from the state of Hawaii, though they come from all over the United States.

Symbols
The symbol of the Democratic Party is the donkey.see "History of the Democratic Donkey" Since the election of 2000, the color blue has become a symbol for Democrats.

Historically, Thomas Jefferson, whom the party claims as its founder, has been often seen as symbols of the Democratic Party, particularly emphasized in the annual celebrations of Jefferson Day Dinners held since the days of Andrew Jackson. As such, the Democratic Party is also often referred to as the “Party of Jefferson.”

List of Democratic presidents
#PresidentPortraitStateTerm startTerm endYears in office7Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)79x79pxTennesseeMarch 4, 1829March 4, 18378Martin Van Buren (1782–1862)82x82pxNew YorkMarch 4, 1837March 4, 184111James K. Polk (1795–1849)87x87pxTennesseeMarch 4, 1845March 4, 184914Franklin Pierce (1804–1869)77x77pxNew HampshireMarch 4, 1853March 4, 185715James Buchanan (1791–1868)83x83pxPennsylvaniaMarch 4, 1857March 4, 186117Andrew Johnson (1808–1875)87x87pxTennesseeApril 15, 1865March 4, 186922Grover Cleveland (1837–1908)85x85pxNew YorkMarch 4, 1885March 4, 188924March 4, 1893March 4, 189728Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)98x98pxNew JerseyMarch 4, 1913March 4, 192132Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)91x91pxNew YorkMarch 4, 1933April 12, 194533Harry S. Truman (1884–1972)88x88pxMissouriApril 12, 1945January 20, 195335John F. Kennedy (1917–1963)84x84pxMassachusettsJanuary 20, 1961November 22, 196336Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973)86x86pxTexasNovember 22, 1963January 20, 196939Jimmy Carter (1924–2024)84x84pxGeorgiaJanuary 20, 1977January 20, 198142Bill Clinton (born 1946)85x85pxArkansasJanuary 28, 1993January 20, 200144Barack Obama (born 1961)84x84pxIllinoisJanuary 20, 2009January 20, 201746Joe Biden (born 1942)87x87pxDelawareJanuary 20, 2021January 20, 2025

Select list of Democratic politicians
 Kamala Harris (California), Vice President, former presidential nominee and U.S. Senator from California
 Jasmine Crockett (Texas), U.S. House of Representative 
 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York), U.S. House of Representatives of New York
 Summer Lee (Pennsylvania), U.S. House of Representatives
 Lauren Underwood (Illinois) , U.S. House of Representatives
 Ayanna Pressley (Massachusetts), U.S. House of Representatives
 Shontel Brown (Ohio) , U.S. House of Representatives
 Wes Moore (Maryland), Governor of Maryland
 Ilhan Omar (Minnesota) , U.S. House of Representatives
 Justin J. Pearson (Tennessee), U.S. House of Representatives
 Justin Jones      (Tennessee), U.S. House of Representatives
 Cory Booker (New Jersey), Senator of New Jersey
 Barack Obama (Illinois), former President
 Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority Leader
 Gavin Newsom (California), Governor of California
 Jim Clyburn (South Carolina), Representative and Assistant Democratic Leader
 Al Gore (Tennessee), former presidential candidate and vice-president
 Howard Dean (Vermont), former Governor and former head of the Democratic National Committee, former presidential nominee 
 John Kerry (Massachusetts), former Secretary of State, former Senator, former presidential nominee
 Patrick Leahy (Vermont), former President Pro Tempore, Senator, and Dean of the Senate
 Christopher Dodd (Connecticut), former Senator
 Mario Cuomo (New York), former Governor
 Dick Durbin (Illinois), Senate Whip
 George Moscone (California), former Mayor of San Francisco
 Harvey Milk (California), Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
 Hillary Clinton (New York), former Secretary of State, former Senator, former First Lady, former presidential nominee
 William M. Daley (Illinois), candidate for Governor of Illinois, former White House Chief of Staff
 Frank Lautenberg (New Jersey), former Senator
 Pat Quinn, Governor of Illinois
 Paul Simon (Illinois), former Senator
 Arlen Specter (Pennsylvania), former Senator
 Tom Bradley (California), former Mayor of Los Angeles
 London Breed (California), former Mayor of San Francisco
 Karen Bass (California), Mayor of Los Angeles and former U.S. House of Representatives
 Richard M. Daley (Illinois), former Mayor of Chicago
 Richard J. Daley (Illinois), former Mayor of Chicago
 John F. Kennedy, former President (Massachusetts)
 Robert F. Kennedy, former Senator, former presidential candidate, and brother of John F. Kennedy
 Daniel Inouye (Hawaii), former President Pro Tempore, former Senator, and former Dean of the Senate
 Martin Van Buren (New York), 8th President of the United States
 Steny Hoyer (Maryland), House Minority Whip
 Robert Byrd (West Virginia), former President Pro Tempore, former Senator, and former Dean of the Senate
 Elizabeth Warren, Senator from Massachusetts
 Tim Kaine (Virginia), Governor, 2016 vice presidential nominee and former head of the Democratic National Committee
 Dennis Kucinich (Ohio), Representative
 Janet Napolitano (Arizona), Secretary of Homeland Security
 Brian Schweitzer (Montana), former Governor
 Harry Reid (Nevada), former Senate Minority Leader, former Majority Leader 
 Harry F. Byrd, Jr. (Virginia), former Senator
 Bill Richardson (New Mexico), Governor
 Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Florida), Representative and former head of the Democratic National Committee
 Mark Warner (Virginia), Senator and former Governor
 Rahm Emanuel (Illinois), Mayor of Chicago, former White House Chief of Staff
 Nancy Pelosi (California), Speaker of the House, former Speaker of the House.
 Chuck Schumer (New York), Senator, former Senate Majority Leader
 Bob Menendez (New Jersey), Senator

Independents who work with Democrats
 Bernie Sanders, Senator from Vermont
 Angus King, Senator from Maine

List of former Democrats
 Ronald Reagan (California), 40th president of the United States (1981–1989). Registered Democrat until 1962.
 Condoleezza Rice (Alabama), 66th United States Secretary of State (2005–2009). Registered Democrat until 1982.
 Rudy Giuliani (New York), 107th Mayor of New York City (1994–2001). Registered Democrat until 1975.
 Rick Perry (Texas), 14th United States Secretary of Energy (2017–2019), 47th Governor of Texas (2000–2015). Registered Democrat until 1989.
 Jesse Helms (North Carolina), United States Senator (1973–2003). Registered Democrat (1942–1970).
 Donald Trump (New York), 45th and 47th President of the United States (2017–2021), (2025–present) Registered Democrat on and off until 2009.

Related pages
 Libertarian Party
 Democratic-Republican Party

 References 

 Other websites 

 Official website


Category:1828 establishments in the United States
Category:Political parties in the United States