The South Carolina Democratic Party is the affiliate of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. It is headquartered in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-largest ...

History

The Democratic Party thrived during the

Second Party System Historians and political scientists use Second Party System to periodize the political party system operating in the United States from about 1828 to 1852, after the First Party System ended. The system was characterized by rapidly rising levels ...

between 1832 and the mid-1850s and was one of the causes of the collapse of the Whig Party. Between 1880 and 1948, South Carolina's Democratic Party dominated state politics. The 1948 presidential election marked the winds of change as Strom Thurmond ran on behalf of the States' Rights Democratic Party ( Dixiecrats). He accumulated 71% of the votes cast in South Carolina that year. Nearly 100 years after the conclusion of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

(around 1949), the state was still preoccupied with racial tension, which muffled the debate about essentially all other issues. During this time, all politics revolved around the Democratic Party. Furthermore, a single faction typically dominated local politics. South Carolina was locked into the traditionalistic culture dominant throughout the South. Political change was often resisted by South Carolina's agrarian leaders. The agrarian leaders were middle-class farmers that were thought to maintain the status quo of the Democratic Party. In 1942, a party convention overwhelmingly voted to continue the all-white primary to prevent

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

influence. For much of South Carolina's history, the lower class was generally not allowed to vote.http://www.thestate.com/news/special-reports/state-125/article43721457.html A major shift began in South Carolina politics with President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

's Civil Rights Act of 1964, with whites switching to the Republican Party.

Current elected officials

The South Carolina Democratic Party currently control none of the statewide offices and holds minorities in both the South Carolina Senate and

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. Democrats hold one of the state's seven U.S. House seats.

Members of Congress

U.S. Senate

Republicans have controlled both of South Carolina's seats in the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

since 2004.

Fritz Hollings Ernest Frederick "Fritz" Hollings (January 1, 1922April 6, 2019) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from South Carolina from 1966 to 2005. A conservative Democrat, he was also the 106th governor of South Carolina, ...

was the last Democrat to represent South Carolina in the U.S. Senate. First elected in the 1966 special election, Hollings opted to retire instead of seeking a seventh full term. Superintendent of Education

Inez Tenenbaum Inez Moore Tenenbaum (born March 8, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician who served as South Carolina Superintendent of Education and as Chair of the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. In 2016 she joined a law firm. She is a ...

ran as the Democratic nominee in the 2004 election and was subsequently defeated by Republican challenger

Jim DeMint James Warren DeMint (born September 2, 1951) is an American political advocate, businessman, author, and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from South Carolina and as president of the Heritage Foundation. DeMint is a member ...

. * None

U.S. House of Representatives

Out of the seven seats South Carolina is apportioned in the U.S. House of Representatives, one is held by Democrats:

Statewide offices

* None South Carolina has not elected any Democratic candidates to statewide office since 2006, when

Jim Rex Jim Rex (born November 21, 1941 in Toledo, Ohio) was the 16th South Carolina Superintendent of Education. He ran for the position in 2006 as a Democrat, against Karen Floyd, a Republican. Rex defeated Floyd by only 455 votes, the closest marg ...

was elected as the Superintendent of Education. In 2010, Rex opted not to run for re-election, instead running unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. Former United States Deputy Secretary of Education Frank Holleman ran as the Democratic nominee and was subsequently defeated by Republican challenger Mick Zais.

State legislative leaders

Senate Minority Leader The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as the chief spokespersons for their respective political parties holding t ...

: Brad Hutto *

House Minority Leader Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, also known as floor leaders, are congresspeople who coordinate legislative initiatives and serve as the chief spokespersons for their parties on the House floor. These leaders are el ...

Todd Rutherford James Todd Rutherford (born October 10, 1970 in Columbia, South Carolina) is an American politician and Democratic member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, representing the 74th District since 1999. He is the Minority Leader of the ...

Officers and staff

As of July 2019, the state party officers were: * Chair: Trav Robertson, Jr. * 1st Vice Chairman: Lessie Price * 2nd Vice Chairman: Anthony B. Thompson Jr. * 3rd Vice Chairman: Jalen Elrod * Secretary: Joyce Rose-Harris * Treasurer: Kendra Dove State Party Staff: * Executive Director: Jay Parmley * Finance Director: Ellen Stankiewicz * Communications Coordinator: Grace Whaley * Political Director: Angela Clyburn

Members of the Democratic National Committee

Three members of the South Carolina Democratic Party also serve on the Democratic National Committee. These are: * Bre Maxwell * Carol Fowler * Clay Middleton

References

External links

South Carolina Democratic Party

Democratic Party of South Carolina Records
at the University of South Carolina's South Carolina Political Collections
South Carolina Young Democrats

South Carolina High School Democrats
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