The Pennsylvania Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is headquartered in Harrisburg and is the largest political party in the state. Its chair is Senator Sharif Street. Governor Tom Wolf is a Pennsylvania Democrat. Priorities for Pennsylvania Democrats in the 2010s and 2020s have been advocacy for middle class workers and increasing the

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...

Platform

The state Democratic Party has recently made economic factors a major component of its platform, with advocacy for middle class workers of particular prominence. The party has also opposed Republican-sponsored legislation to require a photo ID for voting, asserting that such a requirement would discourage minorities, youth, and those with low incomes from voting because they are less likely to possess a state-issued ID. Additionally, the party has committed itself to maintaining the social safety net and encouraging more transparency in state government. Key issues for the party include affordable healthcare, jobs and wages, support for workers and unions, fairer taxes, strong public education, retirement security, civil rights, environmental protection, marijuana legalization, and criminal justice reform. A priority for Pennsylvania Democrats in the 2010s and 2020s has been increasing the

History

Early history

The Pennsylvania Democratic Party traces its history to 1792. Pennsylvania Democrat

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...

was elected president in

1856 Events January–March * January 8 – Borax deposits are discovered in large quantities by John Veatch in California. * January 23 – American paddle steamer SS ''Pacific'' leaves Liverpool (England) for a transatlantic voyag ...

but did not seek re-election four years later, when Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, was elected president. Buchanan's rise and fall from political prominence coincided with that of the Democratic Party in Pennsylvania; for much of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the party was largely out of power.

Recent history

The party held the governorship from 2003 to 2011 with the election of Ed Rendell in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

and his re-election in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

. The party lost control of the governorship following the election of Republican Tom Corbett in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. The party picked up a U.S. Senate seat in

with the election of Bob Casey Jr. Pennsylvania Democrats also briefly held both of the state's U.S. Senate seats following Arlen Specter's party-switch. However, Joe Sestak defeated Specter in the May 2010 Democratic primary before losing the fall general election to Republican Pat Toomey. On the state legislative level, the party won a majority in the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

and in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

but lost its majority in the 2010 election. Republican governor Tom Corbett was defeated for re-election to a second term by Democrat Tom Wolf. This marked the first time an incumbent governor lost re-election in Pennsylvania. Wolf was re-elected in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Current officeholders

The party controls three of five statewide executive offices, including the governorship, and is in the minority in both the Pennsylvania State Senate and the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Democrats hold one of the state's U.S. Senate seats and nine of the state's 18 U.S. House seats.

Federal

U.S. Senate

File:Bob Casey Jr. official photo.jpg, Senior U.S. Senator

U.S. House of Representatives

State

Executive

File:Tom Wolf governor portrait 2019 (cropped).jpg, Governor File:Lt. Gov. John Fetterman Portrait (46874790005) (cropped).jpg,

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

File:Josh Shapiro 2022 (cropped).jpg,

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Legislature

Leadership

* Chair: State Senator

Sharif Street Sharif Street (born March 29, 1974) is an American politician and attorney. He is a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania State Senate who has represented the 3rd district since 2017. In 2018, Street was elected Vice-Chair of the Pennsylvania ...

* Vice-Chair: Peggy Grove * Treasurer: State Rep.

H. Scott Conklin Harry Scott Conklin (born October 7, 1958) is an American politician serving as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 77th legislative district. He was first elected in 2006. Conklin is a Rush Township reside ...

References

External links

Pennsylvania Democratic Party
{{Authority control Organizations based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Democratic Party (United States) by state Democratic Party