Oklahoma Democratic Party | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairperson | Alicia Andrews[1] |
| Senate leader | Kay Floyd |
| 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
|
| Website | |
| www | |
 |
|---|
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.
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 27 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.
- ^ "The ODP Makes History Again – Elects First African American Woman Chair". 10 June 2019.
- ^ "Voter Registration Statistics" (PDF). Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ Oklahoma Government, Oklahoma Historical Society (accessed February 11, 2010).
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
okdemswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ State Election Board Releases Annual Voter Registration Statistics, Oklahoma State Election Board (accessed 21 June 2021)