Kentucky Democratic Party - History

History

Kentucky politics has been relatively evenly matched between Democrats and Republicans. There has been no Democratic President from Kentucky, but there have been three Democratic Vice Presidents from the state. The first Vice President from Kentucky, Richard M. Johnson, was the ninth Vice President of the United States. In the earliest part of the 19th century Johnson was a supporter of the Democratic-Republican Party during his service in the U.S. House, Johnson would work to secure pensions for widows and orphans of wars, in particular those following the War of 1812, a stance that would set precedence for future Kentucky Democrats. Johnson would later become a strong supporter and influence in the Democratic Party along with his service in the White House from 1837-1840. John C. Breckinridge served as the 14th Vice President (1857–1861) and a notable figure in the early Democratic Party of Kentucky, although Breckinridge claimed himself not an anti-union demonstrator, during the civil war, yet strongly supported the states right to determine slavery and would go on to be an officer in the confederate army. Alben W. Barkley Vice President (1949–1953) began his Kentucky Democratic influence as a county Judge, and would become a U.S. House of Representatives and go onto the U.S. Senate with strong ties to Woodrow Wilson’s liberal agenda also during Franklin D Roosevelt’s Administration and would help transition Kentucky’s Democratic Party into the modern era of politics. Since the 20th century and early part of the 21st century Democrats have largely dominated the office of Governor in the State of Kentucky, out of twenty six Governors since 1900, only seven have not conducted office within the Democratic party.