Oklahoma Democratic Party

Oklahoma Democratic Party

The Oklahoma Democratic Party is an Oklahoma political party affiliated with the United States Democratic Party. Along with the Oklahoma Republican Party, it one of the two major parties in Oklahoma politics.

The Oklahoma Democratic Party describes itself as neither liberal or conservative, but "squarely in the center of the political spectrum." The party mission statement goes on to say:

Unlike the far left, we know that less government is sometimes a better government, and that government cannot solve every difficulty faced by our society. But, unlike the far right, we understand there is a role for government to play in finding solutions to our country's problems.

The party has dominated local politics in Oklahoma almost since the days of early statehood in 1907. In national politics, the party became a dominant force beginning with the presidential election of 1932 and the Franklin D. Roosevelt political re-alignment. Since 1932, the majority of members of Congress from Oklahoma have been Democrats, and of the 26 men who have been elected to the office of Governor of Oklahoma, 22 have been Democrats.

However, the party has fared poorly since 1994. Democrats lost all six Congressional races that year and since then have only won a single seat back, only to lose it again in the 2012 election. In response, the traditionally disorganized Oklahoma Democrats have taken steps to create a more organized state party, hiring a professional executive director in 1995. 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.