View source for Southern Democrats

{{short description|American regional political faction}}
{{about|members of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] from the historical South|the segregationist third party active in 1948|Dixiecrat}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
'''Southern Democrats''' are members of the U.S. [[History of the Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] who reside in the [[Southern United States]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://texaspolitics.utexas.edu/archive/html/part/features/0304_01/dogs.html | title=Texas Politics – Yellow Dogs and Blue Dogs }}</ref>
{{conservatism US|parties}}
Before the [[American Civil War]], Southern Democrats were mostly believed in [[Jacksonian democracy]]. In the 19th century, they defended [[slavery in the United States]] and promoted its expansion into the Western United States against the [[Free Soil]] opposition in the Northern United States. The [[1860 United States presidential election|United States presidential election of 1860]] formalized the split in the Democratic Party and brought about the [[American Civil War]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Southern_Democratic_Party|title=Southern Democratic Party – Ohio History Central|access-date=June 21, 2020|archive-date=September 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220903020524/http://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Southern_Democratic_Party|url-status=dead}}</ref> After the [[Reconstruction Era]] ended in the late 1870s, so-called [[redeemers]] were Southern Democrats who controlled all the southern states and [[Disfranchisement after the Reconstruction Era|disenfranchised]] African-Americans.

The monopoly that the Democratic Party held over most of the South showed signs of breaking apart in 1948, when many white Southern Democrats—upset by the policies of [[Desegregation in the United States|desegregation]] enacted during the administration of Democratic President [[Harry Truman]]—created the [[States Rights Democratic Party]]. This new party, commonly referred to as the "[[Dixiecrats]]", nominated South Carolina Governor [[Strom Thurmond]] for president. The new party collapsed after Truman unexpectedly won the [[1948 United States presidential election]].

Despite being a Southern Democrat himself, President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] signed the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] and the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]].<ref name="Kaiser2023">{{cite news |last1=Kaiser |first1=Charles |title='We may have lost the south': what LBJ really said about Democrats in 1964 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jan/22/we-may-have-lost-the-south-lbj-democrats-civil-rights-act-1964-bill-moyers |access-date=February 20, 2023 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=January 23, 2023}}</ref> These actions led to heavy opposition from Southern Democrats.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/jul/30/facebook-posts/group-southern-democrats-not-all-democrats-held-19/ | title=PolitiFact – Group of Southern Democrats, not all Democrats, held up 1964 Civil Rights Act }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1041302509432817073 | title=Democrat/GOP Vote Tally on 1964 Civil Rights Act | newspaper=Wall Street Journal | date=December 31, 2002 }}</ref> Many scholars have stated that southern whites shifted to the Republican Party after a civil rights culture change and accepted [[social conservatism]].<ref name="Issue Evolution">{{cite book|last1=Carmines|first1=Edward|url=https://press.princeton.edu/titles/4385.html|title=Issue Evolution: Race and the Transformation of American Politics|last2=Stimson|first2=James|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=1990|isbn=9780691023311|access-date=June 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516081536/https://press.princeton.edu/titles/4385.html|archive-date=May 16, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Valentino|first1=Nicholas A.|last2=Sears|first2=David O.|author-link2=David O. Sears|year=2005|title=Old Times There Are Not Forgotten: Race and Partisan Realignment in the Contemporary South|journal=American Journal of Political Science|volume=49|issue=3|pages=672–88|doi=10.1111/j.1540-5907.2005.00136.x|issn=0092-5853|author-link1=Nicholas Valentino}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Ilyana|first1=Kuziemko|last2=Ebonya|first2=Washington|year=2018|title=Why Did the Democrats Lose the South? Bringing New Data to an Old Debate|journal=American Economic Review|volume=108|issue=10|pages=2830–2867|doi=10.1257/aer.20161413|issn=0002-8282|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Republicans first dominated presidential elections in the South, then won a majority of Southern gubernatorial and congressional elections after the 1994 [[Republican Revolution]].<ref name="Junn-2020">{{Cite journal|last1=Junn|first1=Jane|author-link1=Jane Junn|last2=Masuoka|first2=Natalie|date=2020|title=The Gender Gap Is a Race Gap: Women Voters in US Presidential Elections|journal=Perspectives on Politics|volume=18|issue=4|pages=1135–1145|doi=10.1017/S1537592719003876|issn=1537-5927|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="nationalreview.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/442347/donald-trumps-election-win-white-democratic-voters-went-republican|title=Can the Republican Party Keep Trump Democrats? |newspaper=[[National Review]]|date=November 21, 2016}}</ref> By the 21st century, and especially after the [[2010 United States elections|2010 midterm elections]], the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] had gained a solid advantage over the Democratic Party in most southern states.<ref name="The long goodbye">{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/united-states/2010/11/11/the-long-goodbye|date=November 11, 2010|newspaper=The Economist|title=The long goodbye|quote=In 1981 Republicans took control of the Senate for the first time since 1953, but most Southern elected officials remained white Democrats. When Republicans took control of the House in 1995, white Democrats still comprised one-third of the South's tally. ... white Southern Democrats have met their Appomattox: they will account for just 24 of the South's 155 senators and congressmen in the 112th United States Congress.|access-date=February 20, 2023}}</ref> 

Southern Democrats of the 21st century tend to be more progressive than their predecessors.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/the-report/articles/2018-10-05/the-return-of-the-southern-democrat|title=The Return of the Southern Democrat |newspaper=[[U.S. News & World Report]]|date=October 5, 2018}}</ref> No Democrat has been elected president without winning at least 2 of the 11 former Confederate states, including winning at least one of Georgia or Florida.

==History==
===1828–1861===
{{Main|History of the United States Democratic Party}}
The title of "Democrat" has its beginnings in the South, going back to the founding of the [[Democratic-Republican Party]] in 1793 by [[Thomas Jefferson]] and [[James Madison]]. It held to small government principles and distrusted the national government. Foreign policy was a major issue. After being the dominant party in [[Politics in the United States|U.S. politics]] from 1801 to 1829, the Democratic-Republicans split into two factions by 1828: the federalist [[National Republican Party (United States)|National Republicans]] (who became the [[Whig Party (United States)|Whigs]]), and the Democrats. The Democrats and Whigs were evenly balanced in the 1830s and 1840s. However, by the 1850s, the Whigs disintegrated. Other opposition parties emerged but the Democrats were dominant. [[Northern Democrats]] were in serious opposition to Southern Democrats on the issue of slavery; Northern Democrats, led by Stephen Douglas, believed in [[Popular Sovereignty]]—letting the people of the territories vote on slavery. The Southern Democrats, reflecting the views of the late [[John C. Calhoun]], insisted slavery was national.

The Democrats controlled the national government from 1853 until 1861, and presidents Pierce and Buchanan were friendly to Southern interests. In the North, the newly formed anti-slavery [[History of the Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] came to power and dominated the electoral college. In the [[U.S. presidential election, 1860|1860 presidential election]], the Republicans nominated [[Abraham Lincoln]], but the divide among Democrats led to the nomination of two candidates: [[John C. Breckinridge]] of Kentucky represented Southern Democrats, and [[Stephen A. Douglas]] of Illinois represented Northern Democrats. Nevertheless, the Republicans had a majority of the electoral vote regardless of how the opposition split or joined and Abraham Lincoln was elected.

===1861–1933===
[[File:DemocraticSolidSouth 1876-1964.png|thumb|upright=1.15|Arkansas voted Democratic in all 23 presidential elections from 1876 through 1964; other states were not quite as solid but generally supported Democrats for president.]]
After the election of [[Abraham Lincoln]], Southern Democrats led the charge to secede from the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] and establish the [[Confederate States of America|Confederate States]]. The [[United States Congress]] was dominated by Republicans; a notable exception was Democrat [[Andrew Johnson]] of [[Tennessee]], the only senator from a state in rebellion to reject secession. The [[Border states (American Civil War)|Border States]] or Border South of Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri of the Upper South were torn by political turmoil. Kentucky and Missouri were both governed by pro-secessionist Southern Democratic Governors who vehemently rejected [[President Lincoln's 75,000 Volunteers|Lincoln's call for 75,000 troops]]. Kentucky and Missouri both held secession conventions, but neither officially declared secession, leading to split Unionist and Confederate state governments in both states. Southern Democrats in Maryland faced a Unionist Governor [[Thomas Holliday Hicks]] and the Union army. Armed with the suspension of ''[[habeas corpus]]'' and Union troops, Governor Hicks was able to stop Maryland's secession movement. Maryland was the only state south of the Mason–Dixon line whose governor affirmed Lincoln's call for 75,000 troops.

After secession, the Democratic vote in the North split between the [[War Democrats]] and the Peace Democrats or "[[Copperhead (politics)|Copperheads]]". The War Democrats voted for Lincoln in the [[1864 United States presidential election|1864 election]], and Lincoln had a War Democrat — [[Andrew Johnson]] — on his ticket. In the South, during Reconstruction the White Republican element, called "[[Scalawags]]" became smaller and smaller as more and more joined the Democrats. In the North, most War Democrats returned to the Democrats, and when the "[[Panic of 1873]]" hit, the Republican Party was blamed and the Democrats gained control of the House of Representatives in 1875. The Democrats emphasized that since Jefferson and Jackson they had been the party of [[states rights]], which added to their appeal in the White South.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Democrats, led by the dominant Southern wing, had a strong representation in Congress. They won both houses in 1912 and elected [[Woodrow Wilson]], a New Jersey academic with deep Southern roots and a strong base among the Southern middle class. The Republican Party regained Congress in 1919. Southern Democrats held powerful positions in Congress during the Wilson Administration, with one study noting “Though comprising only about half of the Democratic senators and slightly over two-fifths of the Democratic representatives, the southerners made up a large majority of the party’s senior members in the two houses. They exerted great weight in the two Democratic caucuses and headed almost all of the important congressional committees.”<ref>The South in Modern America A Region at Odds By Dewey W. Grantham, 2001, P.66</ref>

From 1896 to 1912 and 1921 to 1931, the Democrats were relegated to second place status in national politics and didn't control a single branch of the federal government despite universal dominance in most of the "[[Solid South]]." In [[1928 United States presidential election|1928]] several Southern states dallied with voting Republican in supporting [[Herbert Hoover]] over the [[Catholic Church in the United States|Roman Catholic]] [[Al Smith]], but the behavior was short lived as the [[Wall Street Crash 1929|Stock Market Crash of 1929]] returned Republicans to disfavor throughout the South. Nationally, Republicans lost Congress in January 1931 and the White House in March 1933 by huge margins. By this time, too, the Democratic Party leadership began to change its tone somewhat on racial politics. With the [[Great Depression]] gripping the nation, and with the lives of most Americans disrupted, the assisting of African-Americans in American society was seen as necessary by the new government.

===1933–1981===
During the 1930s, as the [[New Deal]] began to move Democrats as a whole to the left in economic policy, Southern Democrats were mostly supportive, although by the late 1930s there was a growing [[conservatism in the United States|conservative faction]]. Both factions supported Roosevelt's foreign policies. By 1948 the protection of segregation led Democrats in the Deep South to reject Truman and run a third party ticket of [[Dixiecrats]] in the [[1948 United States presidential election]]. After 1964, Southern Democrats lost major battles during the [[Civil Rights Movement]]. Federal laws ended segregation and restrictions on black voters.

During the Civil Rights Movement, Democrats in the South initially still voted loyally with their party. After the signing of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]], the old argument that all Whites had to stick together to prevent civil rights legislation lost its force because the legislation had now been passed. More and more Whites began to vote Republican, especially in the suburbs and growing cities. Newcomers from the North were mostly Republican; they were now joined by conservatives and wealthy Southern Whites, while liberal Whites and poor Whites, especially in rural areas, remained with the Democratic Party.<ref>Byron E. Shafer and Richard Johnston, ''The End of Southern Exceptionalism: Class, Race, and Partisan Change in the Postwar South'' (2009) pp. 173–74</ref>

The [[New Deal]] program of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Franklin Delano Roosevelt]] (FDR) generally united the party factions for over three decades, since Southerners, like Northern urban populations, were hit particularly hard and generally benefited from the massive governmental relief program. FDR was adept at holding White Southerners in the coalition<ref>As in declining to invite African-American [[Jesse Owens]], hero of the [[1936 Summer Olympics|1936 Olympics]], to the White House.</ref> while simultaneously beginning the erosion of Black voters away from their then-characteristic Republican preferences. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s catalyzed the end of this Democratic Party coalition of interests by magnetizing Black voters to the Democratic label and simultaneously ending White supremacist control of the Democratic Party apparatus.<ref>Until the 1960s the Democratic Party [[Partisan primary|primaries]] were [[tantamount to election]] in most of the South and, being restricted largely to caucasians, were openly called [[White primary|White primaries]].</ref> A series of court decisions, rendering primary elections as public instead of private events administered by the parties, essentially freed the Southern region to change more toward the two-party behavior of most of the rest of the nation.

In the presidential elections of [[U.S. presidential election, 1952|1952]] and [[U.S. presidential election, 1956|1956]] Republican nominee [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], a popular [[World War II]] [[General (United States)|general]], won several Southern states, thus breaking some White Southerners away from their Democratic Party pattern. The [[Seniority in the United States Senate|senior]] position of Southern Congressmen and Senators, and the discipline of many groups such as the [[Southern Caucus]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://time.com/archive/6888376/national-affairs-go-west-lyndon/ | title=National Affairs: Go West, Lyndon | date=February 23, 1959 }}</ref> meant that Civil Rights initiatives tended to be blunted despite popular support.

The passage of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] was a significant event in converting the [[Deep South]] to the Republican Party; in that year most [[U.S. senator|Senatorial]] Republicans supported the Act (most of the opposition came from Southern Democrats). Democratic preference. After the passage of this Act, however, their willingness to support Republicans on a national level increased demonstrably. In 1964, Republican presidential nominee [[Barry Goldwater|Goldwater]], who had voted against the Civil Rights Act,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/goldwater-barry-m|title = Goldwater, Barry M|date = April 26, 2017}}</ref> won many of the "Solid South" states over Democratic presidential nominee [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], himself a [[Texas|Texan]], and with many this Republican support continued and seeped down the ballot to congressional, state, and ultimately local levels. A further significant item of legislation was the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]], which targeted for preclearance by the [[U.S. Department of Justice]] any election-law change in areas where African-American voting participation was lower than the norm (most but not all of these areas were in the South); the effect of the Voting Rights Act on southern elections was profound, including the by-product that some White Southerners perceived it as meddling while Black voters universally appreciated it. Nixon aide Kevin Phillips told ''The New York Times'' in 1970 that "Negrophobe" Whites would quit the Democrats if Republicans enforced the Voting Rights Act and blacks registered as Democrats.<ref>{{Cite web| title=Nixon's Southern strategy 'It's All In the Charts' | website=[[The New York Times]] | url=https://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/books/phillips-southern.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060616072807/http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/books/phillips-southern.pdf | archive-date=2006-06-16}}</ref> The trend toward acceptance of Republican identification among Southern White voters was bolstered in the next two elections by [[Richard Nixon]].
[[File:JimmyCarterPortrait2.jpg|thumb|upright|39th U.S. President [[Jimmy Carter]], a [[Southern Democrat]] from the state of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] and the longest-lived president in U.S. history.]]
Denouncing the [[forced busing]] policy that was used to enforce school desegregation,<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Politics of Principle: Richard Nixon|author=Lawrence J McAndrews|journal=The Journal of Negro History|volume=83|pages = 187–200|number=3|date=Summer 1998|doi=10.2307/2649015|jstor=2649015|s2cid=141142915}}</ref> [[Richard Nixon]] courted populist conservative Southern Whites with what is called the [[Southern Strategy]], though his speechwriter [[Jeffrey Hart]] claimed that his campaign rhetoric was actually a "[[Border states (American Civil War)|Border State]] Strategy" and accused the press of being "very lazy" when they called it a "Southern Strategy".<ref>{{cite video | people=[[Jeffrey Hart|Hart, Jeffrey]] | date=February 9, 2006 | title = The Making of the American Conservative Mind | medium=television | location=[[Hanover, New Hampshire]] | publisher=[[C-SPAN]]}}</ref> In the 1971 ''[[Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education]]'' ruling, the power of the federal government to enforce forced busing was strengthened when the Supreme Court ruled that the federal courts had the discretion to include busing as a desegregation tool to achieve racial balance. Some southern Democrats became Republicans at the national level, while remaining with their old party in state and local politics throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Several prominent conservative Democrats switched parties to become Republicans, including [[Strom Thurmond]], [[John Connally]] and [[Mills E. Godwin Jr]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Joseph A. Aistrup|title=The Southern Strategy Revisited: Republican Top-Down Advancement in the South|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oKMeBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA135|year=2015|page=135|publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn=9780813147925}}</ref> In the 1974 ''[[Milliken v. Bradley]]'' decision, however, the ability to use forced busing as a political tactic was greatly diminished when the U.S. Supreme Court placed an important limitation on ''Swann'' and ruled that students could only be bused across district lines if evidence of [[de jure segregation]] across multiple school districts existed.

In [[1976 United States presidential election|1976]], former [[Governor of Georgia|Georgia]] governor [[Jimmy Carter]] won every Southern state except Oklahoma and Virginia in his successful presidential campaign as a Democrat, being the last Democratic presidential candidate to win a majority of the states in the South as of 2024. In [[U.S. presidential election, 1980|1980]] Republican presidential nominee [[Ronald Reagan]] won every southern state except for Georgia, although Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, Arkansas, North Carolina and Tennessee were all decided by less than 3%.

===1981–2008===
In 1980, Republican presidential nominee [[Ronald Reagan]] announced that he supported "states' rights."<ref>{{cite news|last=Greenberg|first=David|title=Dog-Whistling Dixie: When Reagan said "states' rights," he was talking about race.|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history_lesson/2007/11/dogwhistling_dixie.html|newspaper=Slate|date=November 20, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112144213/http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history_lesson/2007/11/dogwhistling_dixie.html|archive-date=January 12, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Lee Atwater]], who served as Reagan's chief strategist in the Southern states, claimed that by 1968, a vast majority of southern Whites had learned to accept that racial slurs like "[[nigger]]" were offensive and that mentioning "states rights" and reasons for its justification, along with [[fiscal conservatism]] and opposition to social programs understood by many White southerners to disproportionally benefit Black Americans, had now become the best way to appeal to southern White voters.<ref name="Branch">{{cite book|last=Branch|first=Taylor|title=Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years 1963–65|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York|year=1999|page=[https://archive.org/details/pillaroffireamer00bran/page/242 242]|isbn=978-0-684-80819-2|oclc=37909869|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/pillaroffireamer00bran/page/242}}</ref> Following Reagan's success at the national level, the Republican Party moved sharply to the [[New Right]], with the shrinkage of the "Eastern Establishment" [[Rockefeller Republican]] element that had emphasized their support for civil rights.<ref>Nicol C. Rae, ''The Decline and Fall of the Liberal Republicans: From 1952 to the Present'' (1989).</ref>

Economic and cultural conservatism (especially regarding [[anti-abortion movement|abortion]] and [[LGBT rights in the United States|LGBT rights]]) became more important in the South, with its large religious right element, such as [[Southern Baptists]] in the [[Bible Belt]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Nicole Mellow|title=The State of Disunion: Regional Sources of Modern American Partisanship|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_jpqImtDBUIC&pg=PT110|year=2008|publisher=Johns Hopkins UP|page=110|isbn=9780801896460}}</ref> The South gradually became fertile ground for the Republican Party. Following the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]], the large Black vote in the South held steady but overwhelmingly favored the Democratic Party. Even as the Democratic party came to increasingly depend on the support of African-American voters in the South, well-established White Democratic incumbents still held sway in most Southern states for decades. Starting in 1964, although the Southern states split their support between parties in most presidential elections, conservative Democrats controlled nearly every Southern state legislature until the mid-1990s. On the eve of the [[Republican Revolution]] in 1994, Democrats still held a 2:1 advantage over the Republicans in southern congressional seats. Only in 2011 did the Republicans capture a majority of Southern state legislatures, and have continued to hold power over Southern politics for the most part since.

Many of the Representatives, Senators, and voters who were referred to as [[Reagan Democrat]]s in the 1980s were conservative Southern Democrats. They often had [[Conservative Democrat|more conservative views]] than other Democrats.<ref name="Why">See [https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2007/08/why-did-the-south-turn-republican/45956/ Matthew Yglesias, "Why did the South turn Republican?"], ''The Atlantic'' August 24, 2007.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-the-democrats-have-shifted-left-over-the-last-30-years/|title=Why The Democrats Have Shifted Left Over The Last 30 Years|website=[[FiveThirtyEight]]|last=Sach|first=Maddie|date=December 16, 2019}}</ref> But there were notable remnants of the [[Solid South]] into the early 21st century.

* One example was Arkansas, whose state legislature continued to be majority Democrat (having, however, given its electoral votes to the Republicans in the past three presidential elections, except in [[1992 United States presidential election|1992]] and [[1996 United States presidential election|1996]] when "favorite son" [[Bill Clinton]] was the candidate and won each time) until 2012, when Arkansas voters selected a 21–14 Republican majority in the [[Arkansas Senate]].
* Another example was [[North Carolina]]. Although the state has voted for Republicans in every presidential election since 1980 except for [[2008 United States presidential election in North Carolina|2008]], the State legislature was in Democratic control until 2010. The North Carolina congressional delegation was heavily Democratic until January 2013 when the Republicans could, after the [[2010 United States census]], adopt a redistricting plan of their choosing.

In [[1992 United States presidential election|1992]], Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton was elected president. Unlike Carter, however, Clinton was only able to win the southern states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia. While running for president, Clinton promised to "end welfare as we have come to know it" while in office.<ref name="promise">{{cite news |first=Barbara| last=Vobejda| title= Clinton Signs Welfare Bill Amid Division |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/welfare/stories/wf082396.htm |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |date=August 22, 1996 |access-date=November 21, 2013 }}</ref> In 1996, Clinton would fulfill his campaign promise and the longtime Republican goal of major [[welfare reform]] came into fruition. After two welfare reform bills sponsored by the Republican-controlled Congress were successfully vetoed by the President,<ref name=salonafr>[http://www.salon.com/2002/02/21/clinton_88/ Why blacks love Bill Clinton ] – interview with DeWayne Wickham, [[Salon.com]], Suzy Hansen, published February 22, 2002, accessed October 21, 2013.</ref> a compromise was eventually reached and the [[Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act]] was signed into law on August 22, 1996.<ref name="promise" />

During the [[Clinton administration]], the southern strategy shifted towards the so-called "[[culture war]]," which saw major political battles between the [[Christian right|Religious Right]] and the secular Left. Chapman notes a split vote among many conservative Southern Democrats in the 1970s and 1980s who supported local and statewide conservative Democrats while simultaneously voting for Republican presidential candidates.<ref>Roger Chapman, ''Culture Wars: An Encyclopedia'' (2010) vol 1, p. 136</ref> This tendency of many Southern Whites to vote for the Republican presidential candidate but Democrats from other offices lasted until the 2010 midterm elections. In the [[2008 United States House of Representatives elections|November 2008 elections]], Democrats won 3 out of 4 U.S. House seats from Mississippi, 3 out of 4 in Arkansas, 5 out of 9 in Tennessee, and achieved near parity in the Georgia and Alabama delegations.

Republicans first dominated presidential elections in the South, then won a majority of Southern gubernatorial and congressional elections after the 1994 [[Republican Revolution]], and finally came to control a majority of Southern [[state legislature (United States)|state legislatures]] by the 2010s.<ref name="The long goodbye"/>

===2009–present===
In 2009, Southern Democrats controlled both branches of the [[Alabama General Assembly]], the [[Arkansas General Assembly]], the [[Delaware General Assembly]], the [[Louisiana State Legislature]], the [[Maryland General Assembly]], the [[Mississippi Legislature]], the [[North Carolina General Assembly]], and the [[West Virginia Legislature]], along with the [[Council of the District of Columbia]], the [[Kentucky House of Representatives]], and the [[Virginia Senate]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ncsl.org/documents/statevote/legiscontrol_2009.pdf |title=2009 State and Legislative Partisan Composition |date=January 26, 2009 |work=www.ncsl.org |publisher=National Conference of State Legislatures |access-date=February 14, 2021 |archive-date=May 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522210246/https://www.ncsl.org/documents/statevote/legiscontrol_2009.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Democrats lost control of the North Carolina and Alabama legislatures in 2010, the Louisiana and Mississippi legislatures in 2011 and the Arkansas legislature in 2012. Additionally, in 2014, Democrats lost four U.S. Senate seats in the South (in West Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas, and Louisiana) that they had previously held. By 2017, Southern Democrats only controlled both branches of the Delaware General Assembly and the Maryland General Assembly, along with the Council of the District of Columbia; they had lost control of both houses of the state legislatures in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and West Virginia.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ncsl.org/Portals/1/Documents/Elections/Legis_Control_2017_August_4th_10am_26973.pdf |title=2017 State & Legislative Partisan Composition |date=August 4, 2017 |work=www.ncsl.org |publisher=National Conference of State Legislatures |access-date=February 14, 2021 |archive-date=January 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102230318/https://www.ncsl.org/Portals/1/Documents/Elections/Legis_Control_2017_August_4th_10am_26973.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Nearly all White Democratic representatives in the South lost reelection in the [[2010 United States House of Representatives elections|2010 midterm elections]]. That year, Democrats won only one U.S. House seat each in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Arkansas, and two out of nine House seats in Tennessee, and they lost their one Arkansas seat in 2012. Following the November 2010 elections, [[John Barrow (U.S. politician)|John Barrow]] of Georgia was left as the only [[White Americans|White]] Democratic U.S. House member in the Deep South, and he lost reelection in 2014. There would no more White Democrats from the Deep South until [[Joe Cunningham (American politician)|Joe Cunningham]] was elected from a [[South Carolina's 1st congressional district|South Carolina U.S. House district]] in 2018, and he lost re-election in 2020.

However, even since January 2015, Democrats have not been completely shut out of power in the South. Democrat [[John Bel Edwards]] was elected governor of Louisiana in [[2015 Louisiana gubernatorial election|2015]] and won re-election in [[2019 Louisiana gubernatorial election|2019]], running as an anti-abortion, pro-gun [[conservative Democrat]]. In a [[2017 United States Senate special election in Alabama|2017 special election]], moderate Democrat [[Doug Jones (politician)|Doug Jones]] was elected a U.S. Senator from Alabama, though he lost re-election in [[2020 United States Senate election in Alabama|2020]]. Democrat [[Roy Cooper]] was elected governor of North Carolina in [[2016 North Carolina gubernatorial election|2016]], won re-election in [[2020 North Carolina gubernatorial election|2020]], and Democrat [[Josh Stein]] won in [[2024 North Carolina gubernatorial election|2024]]. [[Andy Beshear]] was elected governor of Kentucky in [[2019 Kentucky gubernatorial election|2019]] and won re-election in [[2023 Kentucky gubernatorial election|2023]]. As of February 2025, Democrats control the governorships of Kentucky, North Carolina, Maryland, and Delaware and the state legislatures of Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia. [[Joe Manchin]] would be the last Democrat to win statewide in West Virginia in 2018, later switching to Independent status, before declining to run for re-election in 2024.

Since 2017, most U.S. House or state legislative seats held by Democrats in the South are [[majority-minority]] or urban districts. Due to growing urbanization and changing demographics in many Southern states, more liberal Democrats have found success in the South. In the 2018 elections, Democrats nearly succeeded in taking governor's seats in Georgia and Florida and gained 12 national House seats in the South;<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kilgore |first1=Ed |title=A Different Kind of Democratic Party Is Rising in the South |date=November 9, 2018 |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/11/changing-southern-democratic-party.html |publisher=New York Magazine |access-date=November 9, 2018}}</ref> the trend continued in the 2019 elections, where Democrats took both houses of the [[Virginia General Assembly]], and in 2020 where Joe Biden narrowly won Georgia with Republicans winning down ballot, along with [[Raphael Warnock]] and [[Jon Ossoff]] narrowly winning both U.S. Senate seats in that state just two months later. However, Democrats would lose the governor races in Florida and Georgia in 2022 by wider margins than in 2018, though Senator Warnock won [[2022 United States Senate election in Georgia|re-election]] in Georgia.

Virginia is a notable exception to Republican dominance in the former [[Confederate States of America|11 Confederate states]], due to [[Northern Virginia]] being part of the [[Washington metropolitan area]], with both major parties continuing to be competitive in the State in the 21st century. Dr. [[Ralph Northam]], a Democrat and the [[governor of Virginia]] (2018–22), admitted that he voted for [[George W. Bush]] in the [[2000 United States presidential election|2000]] and [[2004 United States presidential election|2004]] presidential elections.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/democratic-candidate-for-virginia-governor-says-he-voted-for-george-w-bush-twice_n_58b48eb9e4b0780bac2c68d5 | title=Democratic Candidate For Virginia Governor Says He Voted For George W. Bush. Twice. |first=Ryan | last=Grim | work=[[HuffPost]] | date=February 28, 2017}}</ref> Despite this admission, Northam, a former state Senator who has served as [[Lieutenant Governor of Virginia]] from 2014 to 2018, easily defeated the more progressive and cosmopolitan candidate, former Representative [[Tom Perriello]], by 55.9 percent to 44.1 percent to win the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/government-politics/northam-defeats-perriello-for-democratic-nomination-for-governor-gillespie-edges/article_9bde85a8-a5eb-5e7b-8e99-44540b1f985b.html|title=Northam defeats Perriello for Democratic nomination for governor; Gillespie edges Stewart in GOP contest|first=GRAHAM MOOMAW AND PATRICK WILSON Richmond|last=Times-Dispatch|date=June 14, 2017 }}</ref> Both of Virginia's U.S. Senators are Democrats, while the incumbent governor [[Glenn Youngkin]] is a Republican.

As of the 2020s, Southern Democrats who consistently vote for the Democratic ticket are mostly urban liberals or African Americans, while most [[White Southerners]] of both genders tend to vote for the Republican ticket, although there are sizable numbers of [[swing voters]] who sometimes [[Split-ticket voting|split their tickets]] or cross party lines.<ref name="Junn-2020"/>

==Election results==
{|class="wikitable"
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
|Won by [[Joe Biden|Biden]]/[[Kamala Harris|Harris]]
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|- valign=bottom
|+ style="text-align: center;" | 2020 United States presidential election results
|-
! rowspan=2 | States /<br />Commonwealth /<br />Federal district
! rowspan=2 | United States presidential election
! rowspan=2 | Electoral<br />college
! colspan=3 {{Party shading/Democratic}} | [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|-
! #
! %
! Change
|-
| [[Alabama]]
| United States presidential election in Alabama
|9
|849,624
|36.57%
|{{steady}}0
|-
| [[Arkansas]]
| United States presidential election in Arkansas
|6
|423,932
|34.78%
|{{steady}}0
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[Delaware]]
| United States presidential election in Delaware
|3
|296,268
|58.74%
|{{steady}}0
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[District of Columbia]]
| United States presidential election in the District of Columbia
|3
|317,323
|92.15%
|{{steady}}0
|-
| Florida
| United States presidential election in Florida
|29
|5,297,045
|47.86%
|{{steady}}0
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
| United States presidential election in Georgia
|16
|2,473,633
|49.47%
|{{Increase}}1
|-
| [[Kentucky]]
| United States presidential election in Kentucky
|8
|772,474
|36.15%
|{{steady}}0
|-
| [[Louisiana]]
| United States presidential election in Louisiana
|8
|856,034
|39.85%
|{{steady}}0
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[Maryland]]
| United States presidential election in Maryland
|10
|1,985,023
|65.36%
|{{steady}}0
|-
| [[Mississippi]]
| United States presidential election in Mississippi
|6
|539,398
|41.06%
|{{steady}}0
|-
| [[North Carolina]]
| United States presidential election in North Carolina
|15
|2,684,292
|48.59%
|{{steady}}0
|-
| [[Oklahoma]]
| United States presidential election in Oklahoma
|7
|503,890
|32.29%
|{{steady}}0
|-
| [[South Carolina]]
| United States presidential election in South Carolina
|9
|1,091,541
|43.43%
|{{steady}}0
|-
| [[Tennessee]]
| United States presidential election in Tennessee
|11
|1,143,711
|37.45%
|{{steady}}0
|-
| [[Texas]]
| United States presidential election in Texas
|38
|5,259,126
|46.48%
|{{steady}}0
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[Virginia]]
| United States presidential election in Virginia
|13
|2,413,568
|54.11%
|{{steady}}0
|-
| [[West Virginia]]
| United States presidential election in West Virginia
|5
|235,984
|29.69%
|{{steady}}0
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|- valign=bottom
|+ style="text-align: center;" | 2020 United States federal elections results
|-
! rowspan=2 | States /<br />Commonwealth /<br />Federal district
! rowspan=2 | United States Congress
! rowspan=2 | Total<br />seats
! colspan=2 {{Party shading/Democratic}} | [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|-
! Seats
! Change
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Alabama]]
| United States House of Representatives in Alabama
| 7
| 1
|{{Steady}}0
|-
| United States Senate in Alabama
| 1
| 0
|{{Decrease}}1
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Arkansas]]
| United States House of Representatives in Arkansas
| 4
| 0
|{{steady}}0
|-
| United States Senate in Arkansas
| 1
| 0
|{{steady}}0
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Delaware]]
| United States House of Representatives in Delaware
| 1
| 1
|{{steady}}0
|-
| United States Senate in Delaware
| 1
| 1
|{{steady}}0
|-
! [[District of Columbia]]
| United States House Delegate for the District of Columbia
| 1
| 1
|{{steady}}0
|-
! Florida
| United States House of Representatives in Florida
| 27
| 11
|{{decrease}}2
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
| United States House of Representatives in Georgia
| 14
| 6
|{{increase}}1
|-
| United States Senate in Georgia
| 2
| 2
|{{increase}}2
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Kentucky]]
| United States House of Representatives in Kentucky
| 6
| 1
|{{steady}}0
|-
| United States Senate in Kentucky
| 1
| 0
|{{steady}}0
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Louisiana]]
| United States House of Representatives in Louisiana
| 6
| 1
|{{steady}}0
|-
| United States Senate in Louisiana
| 1
| 0
|{{steady}}0
|-
! [[Maryland]]
| United States House of Representatives in Maryland
| 8
| 7
|{{steady}}0
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Mississippi]]
| United States House of Representatives in Mississippi
| 4
| 1
|{{steady}}0
|-
| United States Senate in Mississippi
| 1
| 0
|{{steady}}0
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[North Carolina]]
| United States House of Representatives in North Carolina
| 13
| 5
|{{increase}}2
|-
| United States Senate in North Carolina
| 1
| 0
|{{steady}}0
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Oklahoma]]
| United States House of Representatives in Oklahoma
| 5
| 0
|{{decrease}}1
|-
| United States Senate in Oklahoma
| 1
| 0
|{{steady}}0
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[South Carolina]]
| United States House of Representatives in South Carolina
| 7
| 1
|{{decrease}}1
|-
| United States Senate in South Carolina
| 1
| 0
|{{steady}}0
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Tennessee]]
| United States House of Representatives in Tennessee
| 9
| 2
|{{steady}}0
|-
| United States Senate in Tennessee
| 1
| 0
|{{steady}}0
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Texas]]
| United States House of Representatives in Texas
| 36
| 13
|{{steady}}0
|-
| United States Senate in Texas
| 1
| 0
|{{steady}}0
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Virginia]]
| United States House of Representatives in Virginia
| 11
| 7
|{{steady}}0
|-
| United States Senate in Virginia
| 1
| 1
|{{steady}}0
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[West Virginia]]
| United States House of Representatives in West Virginia
| 3
| 0
|{{steady}}0
|-
| United States Senate in West Virginia
| 1
| 0
|{{steady}}0
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|- valign=bottom
|+ style="text-align: center;" | 2022 United States gubernatorial elections results
|-
! rowspan=2 | States /<br />Commonwealth /<br />Federal district
! rowspan=2 | Governors
! rowspan=2 | Seat
! {{Party shading/Democratic}} | [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|-
! Change
|-
! [[Alabama]]
| [[Governor of Alabama]]
| 0
|{{steady}}0
|-
! [[Arkansas]]
| [[Governor of Arkansas]]
| 0
|{{steady}}0
|-
! Florida
| [[Governor of Florida]]
| 0
|{{steady}}0
|-
! [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
| [[Governor of Georgia]]
| 0
|{{steady}}0
|-
! [[Maryland]]
| [[Governor of Maryland]]
| 1
|{{increase}}1
|-
! [[Oklahoma]]
| [[Governor of Oklahoma]]
| 0
|{{steady}}0
|-
! [[South Carolina]]
| [[Governor of South Carolina]]
| 0
|{{steady}}0
|-
! [[Tennessee]]
| [[Governor of Tennessee]]
| 0
|{{steady}}0
|-
! [[Texas]]
| [[Governor of Texas]]
| 0
|{{steady}}0
|}
 
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|- valign=bottom
|+ style="text-align: center;" | 2018,{{efn|Alabama and Maryland held midterms in every 4 years}} 2019,{{efn|Louisiana, Mississippi and Virginia only}} 2020 and 2021{{efn|[[Virginia House of Delegates]] only held off-year every 2 years}} United States state legislative election results
|-
! rowspan=2 | States /<br />Commonwealth /<br />Federal district
! rowspan=2 | Legislatures
! rowspan=2 | Total<br />seats
! colspan=2 {{Party shading/Democratic}} | [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|-
! Seats
! Change
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Alabama]]
| [[Alabama House of Representatives]]
|105
|28
|{{decrease}}4
|-
| [[Alabama Senate]]
| 37
| 8
| {{steady}}0
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Arkansas]]
| [[Arkansas House of Representatives]]
| 100
| 23
| {{decrease}}1
|-
| [[Arkansas Senate]]
|18
|7
| {{decrease}}2
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Delaware]]
| [[Delaware House of Representatives]]
| 41
| 26
| {{steady}}
|-
| [[Delaware Senate]]
|10
|8
| {{increase}}2
|-
! [[District of Columbia]]
| [[Council of the District of Columbia]]
| 13
| 11
| {{steady}}0
|-
! rowspan=2 | Florida
| [[Florida House of Representatives]]
| 120
| 42
| {{decrease}}4
|-
| [[Florida Senate]]
|20
|9
| {{decrease}}1
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
| [[Georgia House of Representatives]]
| 180
| 77
| {{increase}}2
|-
| [[Georgia Senate]]
|56
|22
| {{increase}}1
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Kentucky]]
| [[Kentucky House of Representatives]]
| 100
| 25
| {{decrease}}14
|-
| [[Kentucky Senate]]
|19
|5
| {{decrease}}2
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Louisiana]]
| [[Louisiana House of Representatives]]
| 105
| 35
| {{decrease}}4
|-
| [[Louisiana Senate]]
|39
|12
| {{decrease}}2
|-
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Maryland]]
| [[Maryland House of Delegates]]
| 141
| 99
| {{increase}}7
|-
| [[Maryland Senate]]
|47
|32
| {{decrease}}1
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Mississippi]]
| [[Mississippi House of Representatives]]
| 122
| 46
| {{increase}}2
|-
| [[Mississippi State Senate]]
| 52
| 16
| {{decrease}}3
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[North Carolina]]
| [[North Carolina House of Representatives]]
|120
|51
| {{decrease}}4
|-
| [[North Carolina Senate]]
|50
|22
| {{increase}}1
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Oklahoma]]
| [[Oklahoma House of Representatives]]
|101
|19
| {{decrease}}5
|-
| [[Oklahoma Senate]]
|24
|2
| {{steady}}0
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[South Carolina]]
| [[South Carolina House of Representatives]]
| 123
| 42
| {{decrease}}1
|-
| [[South Carolina Senate]]
|46 
|16
| {{decrease}}3
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Tennessee]]
| [[Tennessee House of Representatives]]
|99
|26
| {{steady}}
|-
| [[Tennessee Senate]]
|16
|2
| {{increase}}1
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Texas]]
| [[Texas House of Representatives]]
|150
|67
| {{steady}}0
|-
| [[Texas Senate]]
|16
|8
| {{increase}}1
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Virginia]]
| [[Virginia House of Delegates]]
|100
|48
| {{decrease}}5
|-
| [[Virginia Senate]]
|40
|21
| {{increase}}2
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[West Virginia]]
| [[West Virginia House of Delegates]]
|100
|24
| {{decrease}}17
|-
| [[West Virginia Senate]]
|34
|11
| {{decrease}}3
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|- valign=bottom
|+ style="text-align: center;" | 2018 United States mayoral election results
|-
! rowspan=2 | Cities
! rowspan=2 | Mayors
! rowspan=2 | Seat
! {{Party shading/Democratic}} | [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|-
! Change
|-
! [[Austin, Texas]]
| [[Mayor of Austin]]
| 1
|{{steady}}0
|-
! [[Chesapeake, Virginia]]
| [[Mayor of Chesapeake, Virginia|Mayor of Chesapeake]]
| 0
|{{steady}}0
|-
! [[Corpus Christi, Texas]]
| [[Mayor of Corpus Christi, Texas|Mayor of Corpus Christi]]
| 0
|{{steady}}0
|-
! [[District of Columbia]]
| [[Mayor of the District of Columbia]]
| 1
|{{steady}}0
|-
! [[Lexington, Kentucky]]
| [[Mayor of Lexington, Kentcuky|Mayor of Lexington]]
| 0
|{{decrease}}1
|-
! [[Louisville, Kentucky]]
| [[Mayor of Louisville]]
| 1
|{{steady}}0
|-
! [[Lubbock, Texas]]
| [[Mayor of Lubbock, Texas|Mayor of Lubbock]]
| 0
|{{steady}}0
|-
! [[Nashville, Tennessee]]
| [[Mayor of Nashville]]
| 1
|{{steady}}0
|-
! [[Oklahoma City]], Oklahoma
| [[Mayor of Oklahoma City]]
| 0
|{{steady}}0
|-
! [[Virginia Beach, Virginia]]
| [[Mayor of Virginia Beach, Virginia|Mayor of Virginia Beach]]
| 0
|{{steady}}0
|}

==Noted Southern Democrats==
Individuals are organized in sections by [[chronological]] (century they died or are still alive) order and then alphabetical order (last name then first name) within sections. Current or former U.S. Presidents or Vice presidents have their own section that begins first, but not former [[Confederate States of America|Confederate States]] Presidents or Vice presidents. Also, incumbent federal or statewide officeholders begin second. 
{{Dynamic list}}

===Southern Democratic U.S. Presidents and Vice Presidents===
* [[Andrew Jackson]], 7th President of the United States, U.S. Senator from Tennessee
* [[Alben Barkley]], Representative, U.S. Senator from Kentucky and U.S. Vice President<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000145 |title=BARKLEY, Alben William, (1877–1956) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref>
* [[John C. Breckinridge]], 14th Vice President of the United States, 5th Confederate States Secretary of War, U.S. Senator from Kentucky
* [[Joe Biden|Joseph R. Biden Jr.]], 46th President of the United States (2021-2025), 47th Vice President of the United States, U.S. Senator from Delaware
* [[John C. Calhoun]], 7th Vice President of the United States, U.S. Senator from South Carolina
* [[John Tyler]], 10th President of the United States, 10th Vice President of the United States, U.S. Senator from Virginia
* [[James K. Polk]], 11th President of the United States, 9th Governor of Tennessee
* [[Jimmy Carter]], Governor of Georgia and President of the United States (1977–1981)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_georgia/col2-content/main-content-list/title_carter_jimmy.html |title=Georgia Governor Jimmy Earl Carter Jr. |date=October 9, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref>
* [[Bill Clinton]], Governor of Arkansas and President of the United States (1993–2001)<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_arkansas/col2-content/main-content-list/title_clinton_william.html |title=Arkansas Governor William Jefferson Clinton |date=October 9, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/1600/presidents/williamjclinton |title=William J. Clinton |date=October 9, 2011 |work=[[White House]] |publisher=The White House}}</ref>
* [[John Nance Garner]], 32nd Vice President of the United States (1933–1941) and U.S. Representative from Texas
* [[Al Gore]], Representative and U.S. Senator from Tennessee, Vice President of the United States (1993–2001) and 2000 Democratic nominee for President<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=G000321 |title=GORE, Albert Arnold, Jr., (1948 – ) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/VP_Albert_Gore.htm |title=Albert A. Gore, Jr., 45th Vice President (1993–2001) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=senate.gov |publisher=U.S. Senate}}</ref>
* [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], U.S. Representative and senator from Texas, Vice President of the United States (1961–1963), and President of the United States (1963–1969)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=J000160 |title=JOHNSON, Lyndon Baines, (1908–1973) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref>
* [[Andrew Johnson]], 17th President of the United States, 16th Vice President of the United States, U.S. Senator from Tennessee

===Incumbent Southern Democratic elected officeholders===
* [[Andy Beshear]], incumbent governor of [[Kentucky]]<ref>{{Citation |title=Andy Beshear |date=August 17, 2023 |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Andy_Beshear&oldid=1170842113 |work=Wikipedia |access-date=August 17, 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
*[[Jim Clyburn]], current member of the U.S. House of Representatives from [[South Carolina's 6th congressional district|South Carolina's 6th district]] and former House Majority Whip<ref>{{Cite web|author=Marilyn Thompson|title=How Rep. James Clyburn Protected His District at a Cost to Black Democrats|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/how-rep-james-clyburn-protected-his-district-at-a-cost-to-black-democrats|website=ProPublica|date=May 5, 2023}}</ref>
* [[Josh Stein]], [[Governor of North Carolina]] (2025–present)
* [[Tim Kaine]], [[Governor of Virginia]], [[Chairman of the DNC]], incumbent U.S. Senator from Virginia, also the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016]] [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] Vice Presidential nominee<ref>{{cite news |title=Is Tim Kaine liberal enough? 
| url=https://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/tim-kaine-clinton-liberals-226263 | first=BURGESS | last=EVERETT | work=[[Politico]] | date=July 27, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_virginia/col2-content/main-content-list/title_kaine_tim.html |title=Virginia Governor Tim Kaine |date=October 9, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/virginia-politics/post/va-sen-elect-tim-kaine-reaches-out-across-aisle-to-fellow-freshman-ted-cruz-of-texas/2012/12/06/cbfa4612-3fc7-11e2-bca3-aadc9b7e29c5_blog.html |title=Va. Sen.-elect Tim Kaine reaches out, across aisle to fellow freshman Ted Cruz of Texas |author=Errin Haines |date=December 6, 2012 |work=washingtonpost.com |access-date=December 29, 2012}}</ref>
*[[Jon Ossoff]], current U.S. Senator from [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]<ref>{{Cite web|author=Alex Rogers|title=Democrats to take Senate as Ossoff wins runoff, CNN projects|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/06/politics/ossoff-perdue-georgia-election-news/index.html|access-date=January 6, 2021|website=CNN|date=January 6, 2021 }}</ref>
*[[Raphael Warnock]], current U.S. Senator from [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]<ref>{{Cite web|author=Alex Rogers|title=Raphael Warnock wins Georgia runoff, CNN projects, as control of US Senate down to Perdue-Ossoff race|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/05/politics/loeffler-ossoff-perdue-warnock-runoff-results/index.html|access-date=January 6, 2021|website=CNN|date=January 5, 2021 }}</ref>

===19th-century Southern Democrats===
* [[Andrew Jackson]], 7th President of the United States, U.S. Senator from Tennessee
* [[Andrew Johnson]], 17th President of the United States, 16th Vice President of the United States, U.S. Senator from Tennessee
* [[Alexander H. Stephens]], Vice President of the Confederate States, 50th Governor of Georgia
* [[James K. Polk]], 11th President of the United States, 9th Governor of Tennessee
* [[Jefferson Davis]], President of the Confederate States,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=D000113 |title=DAVIS, Jefferson, (1808–1889) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref> U.S. Senator from Mississippi
* [[John C. Breckinridge]], 14th Vice President of the United States, 5th Confederate States Secretary of War, U.S. Senator from Kentucky
* [[John C. Calhoun]], 7th Vice President of the United States, U.S. Senator from South Carolina
* [[John Tyler]], 10th President of the United States, 10th Vice President of the United States, U.S. Senator from Virginia
* [[Judah P. Benjamin]], 3rd Confederate States Secretary of State, 2nd Confederate States Secretary of War, 1st Confederate States Attorney General, U.S. Senator from Louisiana

===20th-century Southern Democrats===
* [[Ross Barnett]], governor of Mississippi<ref>
{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/07/obituaries/ross-barnett-segregationist-dies-governor-of-mississippi-in-1960-s.html|title=Ross Barnett, Segregationist, Dies; Governor of Mississippi in 1960s". The New York Times. November 7, 1987|newspaper=The New York Times|date=November 7, 1987}}</ref>
* [[James F. Byrnes]], U.S. Secretary of State, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Representative, U.S. Senator, Governor of South Carolina<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_south_carolina/col2-content/main-content-list/title_byrnes_james.html |title=South Carolina Governor James Francis Byrnes |date=October 8, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B001215 |title=BYRNES, James Francis, (1882–1972) |date=October 8, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref>
* [[A.B. "Happy" Chandler]], governor and senator from [[Kentucky]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_kentucky/col2-content/main-content-list/title_chandler_albert.html |title=Kentucky Governor Albert Benjamin Chandler |date=October 9, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C000290 |title=CHANDLER, Albert Benjamin (Happy), (1898–1991) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=U.S. Congress}}</ref>
* [[Lawton Chiles]], U.S. Senator from Florida and Governor of Florida<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_florida/col2-content/main-content-list/title_chiles_lawton.html |title=Florida Governor Lawton Chiles |date=October 9, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C000356 |title=CHILES, Lawton Mainor, Jr., (1930–1998)|date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref>
*[[James O. Eastland]], U.S. Senator from Mississippi<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=E000018 |title=EASTLAND, James Oliver, (1904–1986) |date=October 8, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref>
* [[Sam Ervin]], U.S. Senator from North Carolina from 1954 to 1974<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Campbell |first=Karl E. |date=2001 |title=Preserving the Constitution, Guarding the Status Quo: Senator Sam Ervin and Civil Liberties |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/23522438 |journal=The North Carolina Historical Review |volume=78 |issue=4 |pages=457–482 |jstor=23522438 |issn=0029-2494}}</ref>
* [[J. William Fulbright]], Representative from Arkansas, U.S. Senator from Arkansas and longest-served chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=F000401 |title=FULBRIGHT, James William, (1905–1995) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web |url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/oral_history/Carl_M_Marcy.htm |title=Carl M. Marcy |date=October 9, 2011 |work=senate.gov |publisher=U.S. Senate}}</ref>
* [[Howell Heflin]], senator from [[Alabama]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000445 |title=HEFLIN, Howell Thomas, (1921–2005) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=U.S. Congress}}</ref>
* [[Spessard Holland]], U.S. Senator from Florida and Governor of Florida<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000720 |title=HOLLAND, Spessard Lindsey, (1892–1971) |date=October 8, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_florida/col2-content/main-content-list/title_holland_spessard.html |title=Florida Governor Spessard Lindsey Holland |date=October 8, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref>
* [[Olin D. Johnston]], U.S. Senator from South Carolina and Governor of South Carolina<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_south_carolina/col2-content/main-content-list/title_johnston_olin.html |title=South Carolina Governor Olin De Witt Talmadge Johnston |date=October 8, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=J000195 |title=JOHNSTON, Olin DeWitt Talmadge, (1896–1965) |date=October 8, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref>
* [[Estes Kefauver]], Representative, U.S. Senator from Tennessee and 1956 Democratic vice presidential nominee<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=K000044 |title=KEFAUVER, Carey Estes, (1903–1963) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref>
* [[Earl Long]], three-term Louisiana governor<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_louisiana/col2-content/main-content-list/title_long_earl.html |title=Louisiana Governor Earl Kemp Long
|date=October 7, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref>
* [[Huey P. Long]], Louisiana governor and U.S. Senator<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_louisiana/col2-content/main-content-list/title_long_huey.html |title=Louisiana Governor Huey Pierce Long|date=October 7, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=L000418 |title=LONG, Huey Pierce, (1893–1935) |date=October 8, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref>
* [[John Little McClellan|John McClellan]], Representative and U.S. Senator from Arkansas<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M000332 |title=McCLELLAN, John Little, (1896–1977) |date=October 8, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref>
* [[Larry McDonald|Lawrence Patton McDonald]], Former Representative from Georgia<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M000413 |title=McDONALD, Lawrence Patton, (1935–1983) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=U.S. Congress}}</ref>
* [[Sam Rayburn]], Congressman from Texas and longest-served [[Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives]]-longest served in the House's history<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=R000082 |title=RAYBURN, Samuel Taliaferro, (1882–1961) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://artandhistory.house.gov/highlights.aspx?action=view&intID=296 |title=Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn of Texas |date=October 9, 2011 |work=house.gov |publisher=U.S. House of Representatives |access-date=October 9, 2011 |archive-date=June 2, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110602000056/http://artandhistory.house.gov/highlights.aspx?action=view&intID=296 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*[[Ann Richards]], second female governor of Texas <ref>{{cite web |url=https://lrl.texas.gov/legeleaders/governors/govPage.cfm?governorID=42 |title=Governors of Texas, 1846-present
 |date=March 22, 2024|work=lrl.texas.gov/ |publisher=Legislative Reference Library of Texas
}}</ref>
* [[Terry Sanford]], U.S. Senator and governor from North Carolina<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S000055 |title=SANFORD, (James) Terry, (1917–1998) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_north_carolina/col2-content/main-content-list/title_sanford_james.html |title=North Carolina Governor James Terry Sanford |date=October 9, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref>
* [[John Stennis]], U.S. Senator from Mississippi<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S000852 |title=STENNIS, John Cornelius, (1901–1995) |date=October 8, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref>
* [[Benjamin Tillman]], governor and senator of South Carolina<ref>{{cite book|first=Francis|last=Simkins|title=Pitchfork Ben Tillman, South Carolinian|publisher=Louisiana State University Press|year=1944}}</ref>
* [[George C. Wallace]], governor of Alabama, American Independent Party candidate for president in 1968, ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972 and 1976<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_alabama/col2-content/main-content-list/title_wallace_george.html|title=Alabama Governor George Corley Wallace
 |date=October 9, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref>
* [[Ralph Yarborough]], U.S. Senator from Texas<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=Y000006 |title=YARBOROUGH, Ralph Webster, (1903–1996) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=U.S. Congress}}</ref>

===21st-century Southern Democrats (deceased)===
* [[Reubin Askew]], Governor of Florida and 1984 U.S. presidential candidate<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_florida/col2-content/main-content-list/title_askew_reubin.html |title=Florida Governor Reubin O'Donovan Askew
|date=October 8, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref>
* [[Lloyd Bentsen]], Representative and U.S. Senator from Texas, [[Secretary of the Treasury]], and Democratic candidate for vice president in 1988<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000401 |title=BENTSEN, Lloyd Millard, Jr., (1921–2006) |date=October 8, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref>
* [[Kathleen Blanco]], Governor of Louisiana<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_louisiana/col2-content/main-content-list/title_blanco_kathleen.html |title=Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco |date=October 8, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref>
*[[Dale Bumpers]], U.S. Senator from Arkansas and Governor of Arkansas<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B001057 |title=BUMPERS, Dale, (1925 – ) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_arkansas/col2-content/main-content-list/title_bumpers_dale.html |title=Arkansas Governor Dale Bumpers |date=October 9, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref>
* [[Robert Byrd]], Representative, U.S. Senator from West Virginia,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/18/AR2005061801105_pf.html|title=A Senator's Shame|work=washingtonpost.com}}</ref> presidential candidate, 1976<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B001210 |title=BYRD, Robert Carlyle, (1917–2010) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=U.S. Congress}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.4president.org/ocmi1976.htm |title=1976 Presidential Campaign |date=October 9, 2011 |work=4president.org |publisher=4President Corporation |access-date=October 10, 2011 |archive-date=October 23, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111023203131/http://www.4president.org/ocmi1976.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* [[Max Cleland]], U.S. Senator from Georgia<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C001034 |title=CLELAND, Joseph Maxwell (Max), (1942 – ) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref>
* [[Edwin Edwards]], Representative and Governor of Louisiana<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=E000067 |title=EDWARDS, Edwin Washington, (1927 – ) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_louisiana/col2-content/main-content-list/title_edwards_edwin.html |title=Louisiana Governor Edwin Washington Edwards |date=October 9, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref>
* [[Wendell Ford]], governor and senator from [[Kentucky]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_kentucky/col2-content/main-content-list/title_ford_wendell.html |title=Kentucky Governor Wendell Hampton Ford |date=October 9, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=F000268 |title=FORD, Wendell Hampton, (1924 – ) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=U.S. Congress}}</ref>
* [[Bob Graham|D. Robert Graham]], U.S. Senator from Florida and Governor of Florida<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_florida/col2-content/main-content-list/title_graham_daniel.html |title=Florida Governor Daniel Robert Graham|date=October 8, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=G000352 |title=GRAHAM, Daniel Robert (Bob), (1936 – ) |date=October 8, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref>
* [[Kay Hagan]], U.S. Senator from North Carolina<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H001049 |title=HAGAN, Kay, (1953 – ) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref>
* [[Fritz Hollings]], U.S. Senator from South Carolina, Governor of South Carolina, 1984 U.S. presidential candidate<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_south_carolina/col2-content/main-content-list/title_hollings_ernest.html |title=South Carolina Governor Ernest Frederick Hollings |date=October 8, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000725 |title=HOLLINGS, Ernest Frederick, (1922 – ) |date=October 8, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref>
* [[John Lewis]], U.S. Representative from Georgia and civil rights leader<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/L000287 |title=LEWIS, John R., (1940–2020) |date= February 2, 2023|work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref>
* [[Lester Maddox]], governor of Georgia<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_georgia/col2-content/main-content-list/title_maddox_lester.html|title=Georgia Governor Lester Garfield Maddox |date=October 9, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref>
* [[Zell Miller|Zell B. Miller]], U.S. Senator from Georgia and Georgia governor<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M001141 |title=MILLER, Zell Bryan, (1932 – ) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_georgia/col2-content/main-content-list/title_miller_zell.html |title=Georgia Governor Zell Miller |date=October 9, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref>
* [[Strom Thurmond|J. Strom Thurmond]], U.S. Senator from South Carolina and Governor of South Carolina (Democrat until 1964, then Republican until death), States' Right candidate (Dixiecrat) for president in 1948<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=T000254 |title=THURMOND, James Strom, (1902–2003) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_south_carolina/col2-content/main-content-list/title_thurmond_james.html |title=South Carolina Governor James Strom Thurmond |date=October 9, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/now/politics/dixiecrats.html |title=Meet the Dixiecrats |date=October 9, 2011 |work=pbs.org |publisher=PBS}}</ref>
* [[David Pryor]], Representative, U.S. Senator from Arkansas and Governor of Arkansas<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=P000556 |title=PRYOR, David Hampton, (1934 – ) |date=October 8, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_arkansas/col2-content/main-content-list/title_pryor_david.html |title=Arkansas Governor David Hampton Pryor |date=October 8, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref>

===21st-century Southern Democrats (living)===
* [[Roy Barnes]], Governor of Georgia<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_georgia/col2-content/main-content-list/title_barnes_roy.html |title=Georgia Governor Roy E. Barnes |date=October 8, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref>
* [[John Barrow (U.S. politician)|John Barrow]], U.S. Representative from Georgia<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=b001252 |title=Barrow, John, (1955 – ) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref>
* [[Mike Beebe]], Governor of Arkansas<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/current-governors/col2-content/main-content-list/title_beebe_mike.html |title=Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe |date=October 9, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref>
* [[Steve Beshear]], Governor of Kentucky<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/current-governors/col2-content/main-content-list/steven-l-beshear.html |title=Kentucky Governor Steven L. Beshear |date=October 9, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref>
* [[John Breaux]], Representative and U.S. Senator from Louisiana<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000780 |title=BREAUX, John Berlinger, (1944 – ) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref>
* [[Phil Bredesen]], Governor of Tennessee<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_tennessee/col2-content/main-content-list/title_bredesen_phil.html |title=Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen |date=October 8, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref>
* [[Ben Chandler]], Attorney General of Kentucky and Congressman from Kentucky<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C001058 |title=CHANDLER, A. B. (Ben), (1959 – ) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=U.S. Congress}}</ref>
* [[Travis Childers]], U.S. representative from Mississippi<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C001074 |title=CHILDERS, Travis W., (1958 – ) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref>
* [[Martha Layne Collins]], [[Governor of Kentucky]] and chair of the 1984 Democratic National Convention<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_kentucky/col2-content/main-content-list/title_collins_martha.html |title=Kentucky Governor Martha Layne Collins |date=October 9, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref>
* [[Roy Cooper]], [[Governor of North Carolina]] (2017-2025)<ref>{{cite news|title=North Carolina Governor Results: Roy Cooper Wins|work=The New York Times |date=August 2017 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/north-carolina-governor-mccrory-cooper }}</ref>
* [[John Bel Edwards]], Governor of Louisiana<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/current-governors/col2-content/main-content-list/john-bel-edwards.default.html|title=Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards|date=September 10, 2016|work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref>
* [[John Edwards|John R. Edwards]], U.S. Senator from North Carolina, 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee, Democratic presidential candidate in 2004 and 2008.<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=E000286 |title=EDWARDS, John, (1953 – ) |date=October 8, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/candidates/edwards/ |title=John Edwards (D-N.C.)|date=October 8, 2011 |work=boston.com |publisher=Boston Globe}}</ref>
* [[Gwen Graham]], [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. representative]] for [[Florida's 2nd congressional district]] from 2015 to 2017 and candidate for [[Governor of Florida]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-05-02 |title=Former Congresswoman Gwen Graham Announces Run For Florida Governor |url=https://news.wfsu.org/2017-05-02/former-congresswoman-gwen-graham-announces-run-for-florida-governor |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=WFSU News |language=en}}</ref>
* [[James Hovis Hodges]], Governor of South Carolina<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_south_carolina/col2-content/main-content-list/title_hodges_jim.html |title=South Carolina Governor Jim Hodges |date=October 8, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref>
* [[J. Bennett Johnston]], U.S. Senator from Louisiana<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=J000189 |title=JOHNSTON, John Bennett, Jr., (1932 – ) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref>
* [[Doug Jones (politician)|Doug Jones]], former U.S. Senator from [[Alabama]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42321396|title=Who is Alabama Senate victor Doug Jones?|date=December 13, 2017|work=BBC News|access-date=December 14, 2017|language=en-GB}}</ref>
* [[Mary Landrieu]], former U.S. Senator from Louisiana<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=L000550 |title=LANDRIEU, Mary L., (1955 – ) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref>
* [[Al Lawson]], [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. representative]] for [[Florida's 5th congressional district]] from 2017 to 2023<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jr |first=Al Lawson |title='It has been my great honor and privilege to serve' {{!}} Congressman Al Lawson |url=https://www.tallahassee.com/story/opinion/2023/01/03/it-has-been-my-great-honor-and-privilege-to-serve-congressman-al-lawson/69767149007/ |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=Tallahassee Democrat |language=en-US}}</ref>
* [[Blanche Lincoln]], Representative and U.S. Senator from Arkansas<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=L000035 |title=LINCOLN, Blanche Lambert, (1960 – ) |date=October 8, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref>
* [[Martin O'Malley]], Governor of Maryland<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.southerngovernors.org/Governors/MDMartinOMalley.aspx|title=MD-Martin O'Malley|website=Southern Governors Association}}</ref>
* [[Joe Manchin|Joseph Manchin III]], governor of West Virginia, U.S. Senator from West Virginia (2010-2025), became an Independent in 2024<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_west_virginia/col2-content/main-content-list/title_manchin-iii_joe.html |title=West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin III
|date=October 9, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M001183 |title=MANCHIN, Joe, III, (1947 – ) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=U.S. Congress}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Wong |first1=Scott |last2=Santaliz |first2=Kate |date=2024-05-31 |title=Sen. Joe Manchin leaves the Democratic Party and registers as an independent |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/sen-joe-manchin-leaves-democratic-party-registers-independent-rcna154885 |access-date=2024-11-23 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Bill Nelson (politician)|Bill Nelson]], Representative, U.S. Senator from Florida<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=N000032 |title=NELSON, Clarence William (Bill), (1942 – ) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=U.S. Congress}}</ref>
* [[Ralph Northam]], Governor of [[Virginia]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/card/sources-ed-gillespie-has-called-ralph-northam-concede-n818781|title=Sources: Ed Gillespie Has Called Ralph Northam to Concede|work=NBC News|access-date=December 14, 2017|language=en}}</ref>
* [[Sam Nunn]], U.S. Senator from Georgia<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=N000171 |title=NUNN, Samuel Augustus, (1938 – ) |date=October 9, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref>
* [[Paul E. Patton|Paul Patton]], Governor of Kentucky<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_kentucky/col2-content/main-content-list/title_patton_paul.html |title=Kentucky Governor Paul E. Patton |date=October 9, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref>
* [[Bev Perdue]], 73rd Governor of [[North Carolina]]
* [[Sonny Perdue]], Governor of Georgia (was once a Democrat, now Republican)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_georgia/col2-content/main-content-list/title_perdue_sonny.html |title=Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue |date=October 9, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |date=November 7, 2002 |title=Georgia goes Republican The rain fell |journal=Economist |url=http://www.economist.com/node/1431845 |access-date=October 9, 2011}}</ref>
* [[Mark Pryor]], U.S. Senator from Arkansas<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=P000590 |title=PRYOR, Mark, (1963 – ) |date=October 8, 2011 |work=bioguide.congress.gov |publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress}}</ref>
* [[Jim Webb]], U.S. Senator from Virginia and Secretary of the Navy, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate (once a Republican)
* [[Douglas Wilder]], Virginia governor, first African-American ever elected governor in the U.S., tried to go for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1991, but eventually withdrew in 1992<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_virginia/col2-content/main-content-list/title_wilder_l-douglas.html |title=Virginia Governor L. Douglas Wilder |date=October 9, 2011 |work=nga.org |publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref>

==Southern Democratic presidential tickets==
At various times, registered Democrats from the South broke with the national party to nominate their own presidential and vice presidential candidates, generally in opposition to civil rights measures supported by the national nominees. There was at least one Southern Democratic effort in every presidential election from 1944 until 1968, besides 1952. On some occasions, such as in 1948 with Strom Thurmond, these candidates have been listed on the ballot in some states as the nominee of the Democratic Party. [[George Wallace]] of Alabama was in presidential politics as a conservative Democrat except 1968, when he left the party and [[George Wallace 1968 presidential campaign|ran as an independent.]] Running as the nominees of the [[American Independent Party]], the Wallace ticket won 5 states. Its best result was in Alabama, where it received 65.9% of the vote. Wallace was the official Democratic nominee in Alabama and [[Hubert Humphrey]] was listed as the "National Democratic" candidate.<ref>Earl Black, and Merle Black, "The Wallace vote in Alabama: A multiple regression analysis." ''Journal of Politics'' 35.3 (1973): 730–736.</ref>

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!Year
!width=300|Presidential nominee
!Home state
!width=300|Previous positions
!width=300|Vice presidential nominee
!Home state
!width=300|Previous positions
!Votes
!Notes
|-
|[[1860 United States presidential election|1860]]
|[[File:John C Breckinridge-04775-restored.jpg|100px]]<br />'''[[John C. Breckinridge]]'''
|{{flag|Kentucky}}
|{{small|Member of the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] from [[Kentucky's 8th congressional district]]<br />(1851–1855)<br />Vice President of the United States<br />(1857–1861)}}
|[[File:Joseph Lane (2).jpg|100px]]<br />'''[[Joseph Lane]]'''
|{{flag|Oregon}}
|{{small|[[Governor of Oregon]]<br />(1849–1850; 1853)<br />Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from [[Oregon Territory's at-large congressional district]]<br />(1851–1859)<br />[[United States Senate|United States Senator]] from Oregon<br />(1859–1861)}}
|848,019 (18.1%)<br />72 EV
|<ref>The ticket won 11 states; its best result was in Texas where it received 75.5%.</ref>
|-
|[[1944 United States presidential election|1944]]
|colspan=6| [[Unpledged electors]]
|143,238 (0.3%)<br />0 EV
|<ref>Electors not pledged to any candidate were on the ballot in South Carolina and Texas, where they received 7.5% and 11.8%, respectively.</ref>
|-
|[[1948 United States presidential election|1948]]
|[[File:Governor Strom Thurmond (cropped).jpg|100px]]<br />'''[[Strom Thurmond]]'''
|{{flag|South Carolina}}
|{{small|Member of the [[South Carolina Senate]]<br />(1933–1938)<br />[[Governor of South Carolina]]<br />(1947–1951)}}
|[[File:Fielding L. Wright, 1948.jpg|100px]]<br />'''[[Fielding L. Wright]]'''
|{{flag|Mississippi|1894}}
|{{small|[[Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi]]<br />(1944–1946)<br />[[Governor of Mississippi]]<br />(1946–1952)}}
|1,175,930 (2.4%)<br />39 EV
|<ref>Running as the nominees of the [[States' Rights Democratic Party]], the ticket won 4 states, and received one additional vote from a Tennessee [[faithless elector]] pledged to [[Harry S. Truman]]. Its best result was in South Carolina, where it received 87.2% of the vote. In Alabama and Mississippi, Thurmond was listed as the Democratic nominee; Truman was the "National Democratic" candidate in Mississippi and was not on the ballot in Alabama.</ref>
|-
|rowspan=3| [[1956 United States presidential election|1956]]
|colspan=6| Unpledged electors
|196,145 (0.3%)<br />0 EV
|<ref>Electors not pledged to any candidate were on the ballot in several states.</ref>
|-
|[[File:T. Coleman Andrews.jpg|100px]]<br />'''[[T. Coleman Andrews]]'''
|{{flag|Virginia}}
|{{small|[[Commissioner of Internal Revenue]]<br />(1953–1955)}}
|[[File:Thomas H. Werdel (California Congressman).jpg|100px]]<br />'''[[Thomas H. Werdel]]'''
|{{flag|California}}
|{{small|Member of the [[California State Assembly]] from the 39th district<br />(1943–1947)<br />Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from [[California's 10th congressional district]]<br />(1949–1953)}}
|107,929 (0.2%)<br />0 EV
|<ref>Running as the nominees of the States' Rights Party and [[Constitution Party (United States, 1952)|Constitution Party]], the ticket's best result was in Virginia, where it received 6.2% of the vote.</ref>
|-
|'''[[Walter Burgwyn Jones]]'''
|{{flag|Alabama}}
|{{small|Judge<br />Member of the [[Alabama House of Representatives]]<br />(1919–1921)}}
|[[File:HermanTalmadge.jpg|100px]]<br />'''[[Herman Talmadge]]'''
|{{flag|Georgia (U.S. state)|1956|name=Georgia}}
|{{small|[[Governor of Georgia]]<br />(1947; 1948–1955)}}
|0 (0.0%)<br />1 EV
|<ref>Jones and Talmadge received one electoral vote from an Alabama faithless elector pledged to [[Adlai Stevenson II|Adlai Stevenson]].</ref>
|-
|rowspan=2| [[1960 United States presidential election|1960]]
|colspan=6| Unpledged electors
|610,409 (0.4%)<br />15 EV
|<ref>Electors not pledged to any candidate were on the ballot in several states. In Mississippi, the slate of unpledged electors won the state. In Alabama, eleven Democratic electors were chosen, six unpledged and five for nominee [[John F. Kennedy]]. The Mississippi and Alabama unpledged electors voted for [[Harry F. Byrd]] for President and [[Strom Thurmond]] for Vice President; in addition, one faithless elector from Oklahoma pledged to [[Richard Nixon]] voted for Byrd for President, but for [[Barry Goldwater]] for Vice President.</ref>
|-
|[[File:Orval Faubus.jpg|100px]]<br />'''[[Orval Faubus]]'''
|{{flag|Arkansas}}
|{{small|[[Governor of Arkansas]]<br />(1955–1967)}}
|[[File:Captain John Geraerdt Crommelin, US Navy, circa in 1947.jpg|100px]]<br />'''[[John G. Crommelin]]'''
|{{flag|Alabama}}
|{{small|United States Navy [[Rear Admiral]]<br />Candidate for [[United States Senate|United States Senator]] from Alabama<br />([[United States Senate election in Alabama, 1950|1950]], [[United States Senate election in Alabama, 1954|1954]], [[United States Senate election in Alabama, 1956|1956]])}}
|44,984 (0.1%)<br />0 EV
|<ref>Running as the nominees of the [[National States' Rights Party]], the ticket's best result was in Arkansas, where it received 6.8% of the vote.</ref>
|-
|[[1964 United States presidential election|1964]]
|colspan=6| Unpledged electors
|210,732	(0.3%)<br />0 EV
|<ref>Electors not pledged to any candidate were on the ballot in Alabama, where they replaced national nominee [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] and received 30.6% of the vote.</ref>
|-
|-
|}

==See also==
{{colbegin}}
* [[Blue Dog Democrats]]
* [[Boll weevil (politics)]]
* [[Bourbon Democrat]]
* [[Conservative Democrat]]
* [[Democrat in Name Only]]
* [[History of the Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party history]]
* [[Jeffersonian democracy]]
* [[Democratic Leadership Council]]
* [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]
* [[Ku Klux Klan]]
* [[National Democratic Party (United States)|National Democratic Party]]
* [[New Democrats (United States)|New Democrats]]
* [[Rockefeller Republican]]
* [[Yellow dog Democrat]]s
* [[Solid South]]
* [[Straight-Out Democratic Party]]
{{colend}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}
{{note label|Mason-Dixon|b|b}}South of the [[Mason–Dixon line]] Carter won just 34 electoral votes – his own Georgia, plus [[Delaware]], [[Maryland]], and [[District of Columbia]].

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* Barone, Michael, and others. ''The Almanac of American Politics 1976: The Senators, the Representatives and the Governors: Their Records and Election Results, Their States and Districts'' (1975–2017); new edition every 2 years; detailed political profile of every governor and member of Congress, as well as state and district politics
* Bateman, David, Ira Katznelson and John S. Lapinski. (2020). ''Southern Nation: Congress and white supremacy after reconstruction''. Princeton University Press.
* Black, Earl and Merle Black. ''Politics and Society in the South'' (1989)
* Bullock III, Charles S. and Mark J. Rozell, eds. ''The Oxford Handbook of Southern Politics'' (2012)
* Bullock, Charles S.; MacManus, Susan A.; Mayer, Jeremy D.; Rozell, Mark J. (2019). ''The South and the Transformation of U.S. Politics''. Oxford University Press.
* Glaser, James M. ''The Hand of the Past in Contemporary Southern Politics'' (2013)
* Key, V. O. ''Southern Politics in State and Nation'' (1951), famous classic
* Kuziemko, Ilyana, and Ebonya Washington. "Why did the Democrats lose the south? Bringing new data to an old debate" ( No. w21703. National Bureau of Economic Research, 2015.) [https://economics.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/south_dems_6dec2017.pdf online]
* Rae, Nicol C. ''Southern Democrats'' (Oxford University Press, 1994)
* Richter, William L. ''Historical Dictionary of the Old South'' (2005)
* Shafer, Byron E. ''The End of Southern Exceptionalism: Class, Race, and Partisan Change in the Postwar South'' (2006) [https://www.amazon.com/The-End-Southern-Exceptionalism-Partisan/dp/0674019342/ excerpt and text search]
* Twyman, Robert W. and David C. Roller, eds. ''Encyclopedia of Southern History'' LSU Press (1979).
* Woodard, J. David. ''The New Southern Politics'' (2006)

[[Category:Democratic Party (United States)]]
[[Category:Politics of the Southern United States]]
[[Category:Political terminology of the United States]]
[[Category:Factions in the Democratic Party (United States)]]
[[Category:Dixiecrats]]
[[Category:Jacksonian democracy]]