Alabama Democratic Party
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The Alabama Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Alabama. It is chaired by Randy Kelley. The Alabama Democratic Party was once one of the most successful political organizations in the United States. Even after the major party realignment in the
height Height is measure of vertical distance, either vertical extent (how "tall" something or someone is) or vertical position (how "high" a point is). For example, "The height of that building is 50 m" or "The height of an airplane in-flight is ab ...
the
Civil Rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...
and the Republican Party's introduction of the
Southern strategy In American politics, the Southern strategy was a Republican Party electoral strategy to increase political support among white voters in the South by appealing to racism against African Americans. As the civil rights movement and dismantling of ...
, Democrats continued winning state and local races in Alabama. This was also unaffected by presidential elections; federally, Alabama has not voted for a Democrat for president since
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
was the nominee in 1976. Republicans remained associated with the North, big business, and
opportunism Opportunism is the practice of taking advantage of circumstances – with little regard for principles or with what the consequences are for others. Opportunist actions are expedient actions guided primarily by self-interested motives. The term ...
. Despite
H. Guy Hunt Harold Guy Hunt (June 17, 1933 – January 30, 2009) was an American politician, pastor, and convicted felon who served as the 49th governor of Alabama from 1987 to 1993. He was the first Republican to serve as governor of the state since Re ...
having become the first Republican governor since
reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology * Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...
in 1986, Democrats had retained most statewide control. The tide only began to change in the 2000s, after Democrat
Don Siegelman Donald Eugene Siegelman ( ; born February 24, 1946) is a former American politician, lawyer and convicted felon who was the 51st governor of Alabama from 1999 to 2003. A member of the Democratic Party, as of , Siegelman is the last Democrat, as w ...
narrowly lost the
2002 Alabama gubernatorial election The 2002 Alabama gubernatorial election was held on November 5. The race pitted incumbent Governor Don Siegelman, a Democrat, against Representative Bob Riley, a Republican, and Libertarian nominee John Sophocleus. The result was an extremely ...
.Alabama used to be a Red State. How did it become so Blue? - Al.com The Democrats did not lose control of the Alabama legislature until 2010, when the
Alabama Republican Party The Alabama Republican Party is the state affiliate of the Republican Party in Alabama. It is the dominant political party in Alabama. The state party is governed by the Alabama Republican Executive Committee. The committee usually meets twice a ...
gained a majority in both houses for the first time in 150 years. Alabama lawmaker Roger Bedford, Jr. attributed this to a “Red Obama backlash tsunami”, and the growing influence of George W. Bush's Republican Party in the South after the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
. For all intents and purposes, Alabama is now considered one of the reddest states in the country, a polar opposite of the staunch blue state it still was on a statewide basis 25 years ago. In Congress, Democrats hold one out of Alabama's seven seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. In the
state legislature A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
, they remain the minority party. Democrats are also the minority party in statewide offices. Extensive
gerrymandering In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...
by Republicans has essentially prevented Democrats being re-elected in considerable numbers for the foreseeable future.


Current elected officials


Members of Congress


U.S. House of Representatives

Out of the 7 seats Alabama is apportioned in the U.S. House of Representatives, 1 is held by a Democrat:


Statewide offices

* None Alabama has not elected any Democratic candidates to statewide office since 2002, when
Lucy Baxley Lucy Mae Bruner Baxley Smith (December 21, 1937 – October 14, 2016) was an American politician who served from 2003 to 2007 as the 28th lieutenant governor of Alabama and from 2009 until 2013 as President of the Alabama Public Service Commissi ...
and
Nancy Worley Nancy Worley (November 7, 1951 – December 29, 2021) was an American Democratic politician who served as Secretary of State of Alabama from 2003 to 2007 and Chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party from 2013 to 2019. Early life and educatio ...
were elected as Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of State, respectively. In 2006, Baxley lost her bid for Governor to Republican incumbent Bob Riley while Worley lost her bid for a second term to Republican challenger Beth Chapman.


State Legislature

*
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
** Current senators **Senate Minority Leader:
Bobby Singleton Bobby D. Singleton is an American politician who is currently a Democratic member of the Alabama Senate, representing the 24th District since a special election in January 2005. Previously he was a member of the Alabama House of Representatives f ...
(SD24) **Senate Deputy Minority Leader:
Billy Beasley William M. Beasley (born March 19, 1940) is an American politician from the state of Alabama. He is a Democratic member of the Alabama Senate, representing the 28th district. Beasley graduated from Auburn University in 1962. He was elected to t ...
(SD28) **Senate Minority Caucus Chair: Linda Coleman-Madison (SD20) *
House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...
** Current representatives **House Minority Leader:
Anthony Daniels Anthony Daniels ( ; born 21 February 1946) is an English actor and mime artist, best known for playing in 10 '' Star Wars'' films. He is the only actor to have either appeared in or been involved with all theatrical films in the series, and ...
(HD53) **House Assistant Minority Leader: Merika Coleman (HD57) **House Minority Caucus Chair: Christopher J. England (HD70)


Municipal

The following Democrats hold prominent mayoralties in Alabama: * Montgomery: Steven Reed *
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
:
Randall Woodfin Randall Woodfin (born May 29, 1981) is an American lawyer and politician who is the 34th and current mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, after winning the October 3, 2017, runoff against incumbent William A. Bell. He previously served as president o ...
* Tuscaloosa: Walt Maddox


History of the party


Creation and ''antebellum'' period

Created during the 1830s under the leadership of conservative figures such as William Rufus King, John Gayle and
William Lowndes Yancey William Lowndes Yancey (August 10, 1814July 27, 1863) was an American journalist, politician, orator, diplomat and an American leader of the Southern secession movement. A member of the group known as the Fire-Eaters, Yancey was one of the m ...
, the local Democratic Party took to represent the farmers and the merchants living in Northern Alabama, advocating individual rights and opposing growing centralisation, against the Whigs who represented the urban populations, the Black Belt
planters Planters Nut & Chocolate Company is an American snack food company now owned by Hormel Foods. Planters is best known for its processed nuts and for the Mr. Peanut icon that symbolizes them. Mr. Peanut was created by grade schooler Antonio Gentil ...
and their businesses allies and who advocated a more active government in the domain of internal improvements. In Alabama, until the Civil War, the main question were the National Bank, the tariffs and the distribution of the former Indian lands, with the preservation of
slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
growing more and more in importance. The Democratic candidates always won the gubernatorial and presidential elections in this state, except in 1845 when a dissident was elected governor and in 1860 when John Breckinridge won the state for the Southern Democrats.


Civil War and Reconstruction

The Alabama Democratic Party guided by
William Lowndes Yancey William Lowndes Yancey (August 10, 1814July 27, 1863) was an American journalist, politician, orator, diplomat and an American leader of the Southern secession movement. A member of the group known as the Fire-Eaters, Yancey was one of the m ...
and others led Alabama to secede from the Union after Republican
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...
was elected president in 1860. The
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
effectively ended slavery but still required a "Constitutional" emancipation of the former slaves by the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment which the Democrats did not support, and for the next century the Democratic party was segregationist. The bi-racial Republican Party dominated Alabama politics from about 1868 to 1876 with its uneasy coalition of blacks and whites. This period resulted in major changes in the politics of Alabama, caused by the recently freed slaves voting for the
Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...
and electing Republican officials. To counter this trend, the Democratic leadership appealed to the
White supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White s ...
sentiments and racial solidarity among the White population, and used
fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compen ...
and violence by the hands of the Ku Klux Klan and other paramilitaries. This allowed them to win back the governorship in 1874 with
George S. Houston George Smith Houston (January 17, 1811 – December 31, 1879) was an American Democratic politician who was the 24th Governor of Alabama from 1874 to 1878. He was also a congressman and senator for Alabama. Early life Houston was born near Fra ...
. With the Republican political collapse in the early 1870s, Democrats reasserted control over the state. While most Alabama campaigns had as their main issues taxation, the railroads, and government reform, racial politics were never very far below and oftentimes brazenly in the open. Occasionally, Democratic voters from the lower classes challenged the Bourbon Democrats Black Belt-Big Mule Coalition inside the Democratic Party. Several unsuccessful attempts to challenge the coalition of planters from the Black Belt and industrialists from the emerging city of
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
occurred in the party primaries. By the 1890s, these failures caused many poor whites to join with the Populists and the Republicans in a biracial coalition. These efforts came close to dislodging the Democrats from power. But the Democratic leadership broke this populist movement through a combination of fraud, intimidation tactics, and deal-making that ultimately resulted in passage of the 1901 Constitution that disenfranchised almost all black voters and even most poor whites.


As part of the "Solid South"

Adoption of The 1901 State Constitution was intended to permanently end any challenge to one-party Democratic rule and restore white supremacy in government. The Alabama Democratic party's leadership successfully disenfranchised most of the Black and poor Whites in the state, by implementation of a
poll tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. Head taxes were important sources of revenue for many governments f ...
,
literacy test A literacy test assesses a person's literacy skills: their ability to read and write have been administered by various governments, particularly to immigrants. In the United States, between the 1850s and 1960s, literacy tests were administered ...
s and a
grandfather clause A grandfather clause, also known as grandfather policy, grandfathering, or grandfathered in, is a provision in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations while a new rule will apply to all future cases. Those exempt from t ...
; other dispositions they used in order to reduce the challenges to the Democratic party from other parties and independents were a sore-loser law and a loyalty pledge binding any participent to the Democratic primary to the Democratic candidates in the general election. This strategy was highly effective for the next 70 plus years. Thereafter, in Alabama, until the 1960s, the main election was consequently the Democratic Party primary, since winning them was
tantamount to election A safe seat is an electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combinati ...
. Sometimes Democratic leaders opposed the conservative wing of the party, led by the Black Belt-Big Mule coalition, and other times also held the liberal wing in check that wanted a more activist government. This was usually achieved by the use of overt racial politics in state elections. However, at the same time the party would send to Washington, senators and Congressmen who regularly voted for liberal Democratic economic policies as long as it didn't interfere with maintaining segregation back in Alabama. In 1904, the Alabama Democratic Party adopted a logo featuring a
rooster The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...
and the words "White supremacy" that would appear on ballots. Since the end of Reconstruction, the Democratic presidential candidate always won the state although, in
1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhano ...
,
Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was an American politician who served four terms as Governor of New York and was the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 1928. The son of an Irish-American mother and a Ci ...
won by a far more close margin because of his
Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, his links with
Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...
, and his support for the repeal of Prohibition. These factors caused some party leaders to even say they would vote for the Republican presidential nominee,
Hoover Hoover may refer to: Music * Hoover (band), an American post-hardcore band * Hooverphonic, a Belgian band originally named Hoover * Hoover (singer), Willis Hoover, a country and western performer active in 1960s and '70s * "Hoover" (song), a 2016 ...
.


Civil Rights Movement

The Great Migration of Blacks from the
Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the wa ...
to states such as
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
or
Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...
, where they would exercise the franchise and where they were an electoral bloc, along with a switch of public opinion meant the National Democratic Party had to act against
Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sou ...
. However, all the Democratic controlled southern states resisted for years. In 1948, after the inclusion of a civil rights plank in the national Democratic Party platform and President Truman's earlier decision to integrate the Armed Forces, several Southern delegates to the Democratic National Convention fought back. Almost half of Alabama's delegation walked out of the National Convention in protest. The delegates from Alabama along with others from surrounding states then regathered in Birmingham, Alabama and formed the
States' Rights Democratic Party The States' Rights Democratic Party (whose members are often called the Dixiecrats) was a short-lived segregationist political party in the United States, active primarily in the South. It arose due to a Southern regional split in opposition t ...
commonly called "
Dixiecrat The States' Rights Democratic Party (whose members are often called the Dixiecrats) was a short-lived segregationist political party in the United States, active primarily in the South. It arose due to a Southern regional split in opposition ...
s." Leading the walkout of Alabama's delegation was then Democratic Lt. Governor, Handy Ellis. The segregationist
Dixiecrat The States' Rights Democratic Party (whose members are often called the Dixiecrats) was a short-lived segregationist political party in the United States, active primarily in the South. It arose due to a Southern regional split in opposition ...
s held their National Convention at the city's Municipal Auditorium in Birmingham. The Dixiecrats would nominate then-Democratic governor
Strom Thurmond James Strom Thurmond Sr. (December 5, 1902June 26, 2003) was an American politician who represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to 2003. Prior to his 48 years as a senator, he served as the 103rd governor of South Car ...
of South Carolina for president and Mississippi governor
Fielding Wright Fielding Lewis Wright (May 16, 1895May 4, 1956) was an American politician who served as the 19th Lieutenant Governor and 49th and 50th Governor of Mississippi. During the 1948 presidential election he served as the vice presidential nominee ...
for vice president. They faced incumbent Democratic president
Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
and the Republican nominee
Thomas Dewey Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer, prosecutor, and politician who served as the 47th governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican candidate for president in 1944 and 1948: althou ...
and his running mate Governor
Earl Warren Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The Warren Court presided over a major shift in American constitutio ...
of California. However, in Alabama, Thurmond was the local Democratic Party's presidential candidate instead of President
Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
, who was not even able to secure a ballot position in Alabama due to hostility from pro-segregationist Alabama Democrats. With the growing pressure from the national Democratic party against segregation, and the state party's continued support for "white supremacy" and the popularity of
Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War I ...
in the 1952 and 1956 elections support for the Democratic party among white Alabamians began to wane at the Presidential level. In this period, Alabama continued to elect pro-segregation Governors with the exception of "Big Jim" Folsom, who was considered to be a "liberal" for his time. During Folsom's second term, the U.S. Congress passed a modest
Civil Rights Act of 1957 The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was the first federal civil rights legislation passed by the United States Congress since the Civil Rights Act of 1875. The bill was passed by the 85th United States Congress and signed into law by President Dwi ...
, with strong bi-partisan support but Alabama's all-Democratic delegation voted against it including somewhat liberal Congressman
Carl Elliott Carl Atwood Elliott (December 20, 1913 – January 9, 1999) was a U.S. representative from the U.S. state of Alabama. He was elected to eight consecutive terms, having served from 1949 to 1965. Background Elliott was born in rural Frankl ...
. Among other things this bill established the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. During the United States presidential election of 1960, as a protest against the civil rights platforms of both national parties, the Alabama Democratic Party ran a slate of five Kennedy-committed Presidential Electors and six
unpledged elector In United States presidential elections, an unpledged elector is a person nominated to stand as an elector but who has not pledged to support any particular presidential or vice presidential candidate, and is free to vote for any candidate when el ...
s, who voted for segregationist U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd of Virginia. In 1964, Congress passed by large bi-partisan majorities, a very strong
Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. It prohibits unequal application of voter registration requi ...
, however, once again, Alabama's all-Democratic delegation voted against it, including Senators John Sparkman and Lister Hill who both supported a 54-day long
filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking out ...
against the legislation. Also, in 1964,
Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for president ...
was the first Republican to carry the state since
Grant Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom * Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama * Grant, Inyo County, ...
on 1872; Again, the Alabama Democratic Party denied its own President Lyndon B. Johnson ballot access under the Democratic party banner. Since Johnson was not even present on the ballots eleven unpledged electors ran on the Democratic ticket. Faced with growing numbers of new Black voters given the franchise thanks to the
Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights m ...
, the state Democratic leadership tried to attract these new voters by measures such as forming the
Alabama Democratic Conference The Alabama Democratic Conference (ADC) is an African-American political league, co-founded by Orzell Billingsley and others, in cooperation with the national Democratic Party. Formed in 1960 as the Black Political Caucus of Alabama, it was the fir ...
and replacing the "White supremacy" with "Democrats" on their logo; nevertheless, the party remained deeply divided on both racial politics and the inside battle between ''Loyalists'', liberals or moderates "loyal" to the national Democratic party, and segregationists ''Regulars'', and on the outside with the National Democratic Party of Alabama, a mainly Black and liberal party. In 1968, former Alabama Governor
George C. Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 45th governor of Alabama for four terms. A member of the Democratic Party, he is best remembered for his staunch segregationist and ...
ran for president as the nominee of the
American Independent Party The American Independent Party (AIP) is a far-right political party in the United States that was established in 1967. The AIP is best known for its nomination of former Democratic Governor George Wallace of Alabama, who carried five states in t ...
, except that in Alabama he was the "Democrat" nominee for president. Once again, the state party failed to support its pro Civil Rights nominee, Vice President
Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing ...
of Minnesota. By this time, the National Party then recognized a black-majority replacement party under the direction of African-American
John L. Cashin, Jr. John Logan Cashin Jr. (April 16, 1928 – March 21, 2011) was an American dentist, civil rights campaigner, and politician. He was the founder and leader of the National Democratic Party of Alabama. Born in Huntsville, Alabama, Cashin received hi ...
and seated his delegation at the 1968 convention under the name of the National Democratic Party of Alabama. Two years later, Cashin would unsuccessfully challenge Wallace election to a second term as governor. After the 1970 Federal Census and Voting Rights legal challenges, the Alabama Legislature reapportioned itself for the first time in several decades. Part of the result was the creation of two black-majority House districts. These were the first minority-majority seats since black Republicans served in the legislature during
Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology * Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...
(1868–1878). Democrats Thomas J. Reed and Fred Gray were elected as the first minority members in almost one hundred years.


The Wallace era

The personality and racial politics of Democratic governor
George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 45th governor of Alabama for four terms. A member of the Democratic Party, he is best remembered for his staunch segregationist a ...
, dominated Alabama throughout the 1960s, 1970's, and until his retirement from elective office in 1986. He campaigned on shifting grounds as the circumstances warranted. Initially, he promised "segregation forever" to a white-dominated electorate in his successful 1962 campaign for governor. He was unable to seek a second consecutive term due to the state's then law that limited governors to "one-term and out." So in 1966, his wife Lurleen Wallace ran in his place and won a landslide victory in both the Democratic primary and the General Election over Republican nominee, Congressman
James D. Martin James Douglas Martin (September 1, 1918 – October 30, 2017) was an American politician. Martin was born in Tarrant, Alabama. He served as a member for the 7th district of Alabama of the United States House of Representatives from 1965 to ...
. However, she died in office in May, 1968 and was succeeded by the Lieutenant Governor, Albert P. Brewer. By this time the state's one term limit had been removed allowing Governor Brewer to seek a full-term.
George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 45th governor of Alabama for four terms. A member of the Democratic Party, he is best remembered for his staunch segregationist a ...
then challenged him for re-election in 1970, and won a bitter and racially charged Democratic primary against Governor Albert P. Brewer. He won again in 1974 and then temporarily retired at the end of his third term in 1979. He returned to politics for one final campaign for governor in 1982 defeating the liberal Lt. Governor George McMillan in part by appealing to the very black voters he had so often mistreated even singing "We Shall Overcome" inside black churches and apologizing for his previous stands. As a result, he received more than 25% of the black vote in the Democratic primary. He defeated Republican
Emory Folmar Emory McCord Folmar (June 3, 1930 – November 11, 2011) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Montgomery, Alabama, from 1977 to 1999. Although the mayor's office is nonpartisan, Folmar was known to be a Republican. Back ...
in the general election. His chameleon-like political re-inventions of himself effectively kept Alabama under nominal Democratic party control. This strategy worked long beyond what it did in many other southern states that had figured out how to accommodate their more racially inclusive electorates without blatant appeals to racism. However, one-party Democratic dominance finally ended in 1986 as the
Alabama Republican Party The Alabama Republican Party is the state affiliate of the Republican Party in Alabama. It is the dominant political party in Alabama. The state party is governed by the Alabama Republican Executive Committee. The committee usually meets twice a ...
won the Governorship with the election of
Guy Hunt Harold Guy Hunt (June 17, 1933 – January 30, 2009) was an American politician, pastor, and convicted felon who served as the 49th governor of Alabama from 1987 to 1993. He was the first Republican to serve as governor of the state since Re ...
. Earlier, in George Wallace's second term the three warring factions of the state Democratic party eventually reunited in the main party in 1972, and the regulars were returned to control of the delegation at the Democratic National Convention to which George Wallace spoke just weeks after he was gunned down by a would-be assassin.


The Post-Wallace era

The final retirement of
George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 45th governor of Alabama for four terms. A member of the Democratic Party, he is best remembered for his staunch segregationist a ...
in 1986 opened a bitter struggle for succeeding him between several major figures in the Democratic Party. It included Lt. Governor Bill Baxley then serving under Wallace fourth term. He had also served as attorney general under Wallace's second and third terms. He had been a politically nimble figure who was considered to be both a "new south" southern liberal (he prosecuted the Sixteenth Street Church Bomber) and, yet, was also considered to be a friend and loyalist to Wallace. He also enjoyed the support of organized labor. The other major candidate was then retiring Attorney General Charles Graddick who before being elected as a statewide-Democrat, had previously been in the Republican Party. He was considered to represent the more conservative and business oriented wing of the Democratic party. Charles Graddick defeated Bill Baxley in the Democratic runoff by about 8,000 votes. Baxley appealed his primary loss to the State Democratic Executive Committee on the basis that Graddick had called Republicans to "cross over" and "illegally" participate in the runoff after having voted in the Republican primary several weeks earlier. Despite no real evidence to support this conclusion, the Party leaders agreed and disqualified Graddick as the nominee. This forced the leadership to either hold another runoff or chose Baxley as the candidate for the Alabama gubernatorial election of 1986. The controversial decision from the party leadership to run Baxley was deemed undemocratic by the electorate, leading to the landslide election of
Guy Hunt Harold Guy Hunt (June 17, 1933 – January 30, 2009) was an American politician, pastor, and convicted felon who served as the 49th governor of Alabama from 1987 to 1993. He was the first Republican to serve as governor of the state since Re ...
, the first Republican to win the governor's race since
Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology * Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...
. Including that election, Democrats have lost 8 of the last 9 Governor's races with the only win being in 1998 by
Don Siegelman Donald Eugene Siegelman ( ; born February 24, 1946) is a former American politician, lawyer and convicted felon who was the 51st governor of Alabama from 1999 to 2003. A member of the Democratic Party, as of , Siegelman is the last Democrat, as w ...
. Since 1986, Democrats have lost more and more ground to the Republicans, finally, in 2010, losing control of the
Alabama Legislature The Alabama Legislature is the legislative branch of the state government of Alabama. It is a bicameral body composed of the House of Representatives and Senate. It is one of the few state legislatures in which members of both chambers se ...
.


Nancy Worley era and 2018–2019 leadership dispute

In 2013, former Secretary of State Nancy Worley was elected chair of the ADP, formally stepping into the role after serving as Vice-Chair since 2007 and as interim Chair since Mark Kennedy's 2013 resignation. Worley was supported in her position by Vice-Chair of Minority Affairs Joe L. Reed. She worked to restructure the finances of the ADP, but was criticized for reducing the ADP's financial support of general election candidates. When she ran for a second term in 2018, she was narrowly re-elected by the State Democratic Executive Committee against opponent Peck Fox, who was endorsed by then U.S. Senator Doug Jones. However, after the ADP refused to fund most Democratic candidates running for office in Alabama in 2018 (accompanied by a crushing defeat for all Democratic challengers on the ballot), several supporters of Fox's candidacy found fault with the conduct of the election and the credentials of several SDEC members who voted in the election, and took the dispute before the
Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well ...
. The DNC subsequently suspended issued party-building funds (US$10,000 a month) to Alabama in September 2018. The DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee ruled in February 2019 that the ADP, within 90 days, should draw up new bylaws which comport to the DNC's standards for affirmative action and are more inclusive of Youth, LGBTQ, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI), Latino and disabled Democrats. The RBC found fault with the ADP bylaws' stipulation that the Vice-Chair of Minority Affairs could select up to 30 at-large members to the SDEC; that the bylaws only provided for the SDEC membership to reflect the ethnic makeup of the Democratic voting base from the last general election, which almost entirely accommodated African-Americans; and that most of the at-large appointees were selected by Reed from the
Alabama Democratic Conference The Alabama Democratic Conference (ADC) is an African-American political league, co-founded by Orzell Billingsley and others, in cooperation with the national Democratic Party. Formed in 1960 as the Black Political Caucus of Alabama, it was the fir ...
, which Reed has chaired since 1979. The ADP did not respond to the RBC's ruling, and refused to respond to another 90-day extension of the ruling. In August, DNC Chair
Tom Perez Thomas Edward Perez (born October 7, 1961) is an American politician and attorney who served as the Chair of the Democratic National Committee from February 2017 until January 2021. Perez was previously Assistant Attorney General for Civil Right ...
issued a recommendation that the ADP's refusal to act should be met with the stripping of DNC voting credentials from Worley and Vice-Chair Randy Kelley, and that refusal to approve DNC-compliant bylaws and hold new officer elections under the new bylaws would jeopardize the DNC's acceptance of the ADP's 2020 delegate selection plan and, hence, any representation from Alabama delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention. Worley attended the DNC Summer Meeting in San Francisco to protest the recommendation, asserting that the DNC's recommendations for more diverse representation on the SDEC was an attack on the African-American Democratic base. On August 23, the RBC and then the full DNC voted unanimously to strip credentials from Worley and Kelley. On September 23, the RBC approved new proposed ADP bylaws which were written by Reps.
Anthony Daniels Anthony Daniels ( ; born 21 February 1946) is an English actor and mime artist, best known for playing in 10 '' Star Wars'' films. He is the only actor to have either appeared in or been involved with all theatrical films in the series, and ...
, Napoleon Bracy Jr. and Christopher J. England in their capacity as members of the Alabama House Democratic Caucus and the Alabama House Black Caucus. The RBC ordered that the new bylaws should be passed by the SDEC within 10 days by October 5. Worley, in retaliation, called an SDEC meeting for October 12. The October 5 meeting, which brought together 75 members of the SDEC, voted to approve the DNC-supported ADP bylaws, while over 80 other members who supported Worley and Kelley did not attend. Subsequently, the Worley-Kelley faction held an SDEC meeting on October 12 at which most of those who attended the October 5 meeting also attended to vote against Worley's proposed bylaws. The Worley-organized SDEC meeting overruled the October 5 meeting and bylaws, with Worley denying that she had received notice of a member-called meeting for October 5, and subsequently passed a non-DNC-approved draft of the bylaws which mostly consisted of the older text. However, the pro-DNC SDEC members vowed to hold their meeting on November 2 to elect new ADP leaders. Worley filed a lawsuit against Daniels, Bracy and England on October 30 in Montgomery County Circuit Court to block the November 2 meeting from happening, with Judge Greg Griffin (D) issuing November 1 ruling to block the meeting. The block was immediately appealed to the all Republican
Alabama Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Alabama is the highest court in the state of Alabama. The court consists of a chief justice and eight associate justices. Each justice is elected in partisan elections for staggered six-year terms. The Supreme Court is hou ...
, which issued a stay on the block by a vote of 8-0. On November 2, 107 members of the SDEC met in Montgomery under the October 5 bylaws in order to elect over 70 members from the ADP's Youth, LGBTQ, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) and Latino caucuses to the SDEC under an umbrella "Diversity Caucus", and the members unanimously voted to remove Worley and Kelley as Chair and Vice-Chair. The members subsequently voted for State Rep. Christopher J. England as Chair and Patricia Todd as Vice-Chair. Worley, who did not attend the meeting, disputed its validity and declared herself and Kelley as the rightful leaders of the party; in addition, most of the Worley-Kelley faction, including Reed's at-large appointees to the SDEC, did not attend the SDEC meeting. Additional legal action is still pending in front of Judge Griffin in the dispute. The England-Todd faction gained control of the ADP's website and social media pages by November 18. On December 20, Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill (R) certified England's signature of the Democratic list of people who filed as candidates for the 2020 election, establishing England as the ''
de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legall ...
'' chair of the party. The controversial election and preceding events were the subject of a three-part series entitled "The Real Enemy," produced by Emmanuel Dzotsi for the podcast Reply All. In July 2022, England announced that he would not seek another term as chair of the Alabama Democratic Party. Candidates to replace England included former congressional nominee Tabitha Isner,
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
LGBTQ city liaison Josh Coleman, and former U.S. Senate candidate Brandaun Dean. Former U.S. representative
Parker Griffith Rolf Parker Griffith Jr. (born August 6, 1942) is an American retired physician, entrepreneur and politician who served in the Alabama State Senate from 2006 to 2008 and then as the U.S. representative for from 2009 to 2011. A lifelong member o ...
also expressed interest in the position, but said he would only compete for it if he was nominated by someone else. Ultimately, it was former party Vice Chair Randy Kelley who won the chairmanship. Isner was elected as Senior Vice Chair.


Emblems

In 1904 the Alabama Democratic Party chose, as the logo to put on its ballots, a rooster with the motto "White supremacy - For the right." Some objected to the rooster, such as segregationist Senator
J. Thomas Heflin James Thomas Heflin (April 9, 1869 – April 22, 1951), nicknamed "Cotton Tom", was an American politician who served as a United States representative and United States senator from Alabama. Early life Born in Louina, Alabama, he attended ...
, who found it " ailingto impress the people with the dignity of the Democratic Party," preferring to use a woman holding the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...
in scrolls upon which was marked "Here We Rest" without objecting to the motto itself. The presence of "White Supremacy" on the Democratic logo and, as extension, on the ballots themselves, was used as a symbol of the Black disenfranchisement in the South and for the
1952 United States Presidential Election The 1952 United States presidential election was the 42nd quadrennial presidential election and was held on Tuesday, November 4, 1952. Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower won a landslide victory over Democrat Adlai Stevenson II, which ended 20 ye ...
used against the Stevenson- Sparkman ticket by
Thomas Dewey Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer, prosecutor, and politician who served as the 47th governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican candidate for president in 1944 and 1948: althou ...
. In January 1966, over the objections of George Wallace and the Regulars, who feared the loss of White voters, the leadership decided, on a proposition from the Loyalists, helped by Charles W. McKay, the author of the "Nullification Declaration" against the ''
Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model ...
'' decision, who wanted to attract Black voters recently enfranchised by the
Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights m ...
, to replace "White supremacy" with "Democrats." Thirty years later, in 1996, the party finally dropped the
rooster The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...
, citing racist and white supremacist connotations linked with the symbol.


Chronology of leadership


Chronology of Chairs

*1955–1966: Roy Mayhall *1966–1977: Bob Vance *1977–1980: George Lewis Bailes *1980–1984: Jimmy Knight *1984–1991: John Baker *1991–1992: Jack Hurley *1992–1996: Bill Blount *1996–1998: Joe Turnham *1998–2001: Jack Miller *2001–2005: Redding Pitt *2005–2011: Joe Turnham *2011–2013: Mark Kennedy *2013–2019:
Nancy Worley Nancy Worley (November 7, 1951 – December 29, 2021) was an American Democratic politician who served as Secretary of State of Alabama from 2003 to 2007 and Chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party from 2013 to 2019. Early life and educatio ...
*2019–2022: Christopher J. England *2022–present: Randy Kelley


Vice-Chairs

* Pat Edington (1979–1991) * Amy Burks (1991–2007) *
Nancy Worley Nancy Worley (November 7, 1951 – December 29, 2021) was an American Democratic politician who served as Secretary of State of Alabama from 2003 to 2007 and Chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party from 2013 to 2019. Early life and educatio ...
(2007–2013) * Redding Pitt (2013–2016) * Randy Kelley (2016–2019) * Patricia Todd (2019–2022) * Tabitha Isner (2022–present)


Chronology of Executive Directors

*197?–1983: Louise Lindblom *1983–1997: Al LaPierre *1998–2000: Giles Perkins *2000: Wade Perry *2000–2001: Phillip Kinney *2001–2003: Marsha Folsom *2003–2004: Mike Kanarick *2004–2011: Jim Spearman *2011–2013: Bradley Davidson *2020–present: Wade Perry


Notes and references


See also

* Political party strength in Alabama * List of state parties of the Democratic Party (United States) *
Alabama Republican Party The Alabama Republican Party is the state affiliate of the Republican Party in Alabama. It is the dominant political party in Alabama. The state party is governed by the Alabama Republican Executive Committee. The committee usually meets twice a ...


External links


Alabama Democratic PartyAlabama College DemocratsAlabama Democratic Conference
{{Authority control Politics of Alabama Democratic Party (United States) by state Political parties in Alabama 1830s establishments in Alabama Political parties established in the 1830s