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The Oklahoma Democratic Party is an Oklahoma political party affiliated with the United States Democratic Party.
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 U.S. 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. [1]
However, the party has fared poorly since 1994. Democrats lost all 6 Congressional races that year and since then have only won in the 2nd District. In the 2000s, Democrats lost control of 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.
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Historically prominent Oklahoma Democrats
- Governor William H. "Alfalfa Bill" Murray
- Governor Robert S. Kerr
- Governor J. Howard Edmondson
- Governor George Nigh
- Governor David L. Boren
- U.S. Senator Thomas P. Gore
- U.S. Senator Robert S. Kerr
- U.S. Senator Fred Harris
- U.S. Senator David L. Boren
- U.S. House Speaker Carl Albert
Current Democratic elected officials
- Governor: Brad Henry
- Lieutenant Governor: Jari Askins
- Attorney General: Drew Edmondson
- State Treasurer: Scott Meacham
- State Auditor & Inspector: Jeff McMahan
- Superintendent of Public Instruction: Sandy Garrett
- State Insurance Commissioner: Kim Holland
- Labor Commissioner: Lloyd Fields
- House Minority Leader: Danny Morgan
- House Democratic Caucus Chairman: Chuck Hoskin
- Senate Minority Leader: Charlie Laster
- Senate Minority Whip: Susan Paddack
- Senate Democratic Caucus Chair: Kenneth Corn
- United States Congress: Dan Boren
Current Democratic party leadership
(as of August 17, 2009)
- Todd Goodman, Chair
- Lauren Guhl, Vice-Chair
- James Baggett, Secretary
- Linda Gray Murphy, Treasurer
Jim Fraser, Kalyn Free, J.D., and Betty McElderry have been appointed at-large members of the Democratic National Committee. [2]
The four executive officers are elected at biennial state conventions in May of odd-numbered years. The elected DNC committee delegates serve four-year terms concurrent with presidential elections.
See also
External links
- Oklahoma Democratic Party Home Page
- Oklahoma Democratic Party Mission Statement
- Oklahoma Historical Society page listing Oklahoma Governors.
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