South Carolina Democratic Party
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South Carolina Democratic Party | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairperson | Christale Spain |
| Senate Minority Leader | Brad Hutto |
| House Minority Leader | J. Todd Rutherford |
| Headquarters | 1929 Gadsden Columbia, South Carolina |
| Ideology | Modern liberalism |
| National affiliation | Democratic Party |
| Colors | Blue |
| Seats in theU.S. Senate | 0 / 2
|
| Seats in theU.S. House of Representatives | 1 / 7
|
| Statewide Executive Offices | 1 / 9
|
| Seats in theSouth Carolina Senate | 15 / 46
|
| Seats in theSouth Carolina House of Representatives | 36 / 124
|
| Website | |
| www | |
TheSouth Carolina Democratic Partyis the affiliate of theDemocratic Partyin theU.S. stateofSouth Carolina.It is headquartered inColumbia, South Carolina.
History
[edit]The Democratic Party thrived during theSecond Party Systembetween 1832 and the mid-1850s and was one of the causes of the collapse of theWhig Party.
Between 1880 and 1948, South Carolina's Democratic Party dominated state politics. The1948 presidential electionmarked the winds of change asStrom Thurmondran on behalf of the States' Rights Democratic Party (Dixiecrats). He accumulated 71% of the votes cast in South Carolina that year.[1]
Nearly 100 years after the conclusion of theAmerican Civil War(around 1949), the state was still preoccupied with racial tension, which muffled the debate about essentially all other issues. During this time, all politics revolved around the Democratic Party. Furthermore, a single faction typically dominated local politics. South Carolina was locked into thetraditionalistic culturedominant throughout the South. Political change was often resisted by South Carolina's agrarian leaders. The agrarian leaders were middle-class farmers that were thought to maintain the status quo of the Democratic Party. In 1942, a party convention overwhelmingly voted to continue theall-white primaryto preventAfrican-Americaninfluence.[2]For much ofSouth Carolina's history,the lower class was generally not allowed to vote.[3]
A major shift began inSouth Carolina politicswith PresidentLyndon B. Johnson'sCivil Rights Act of 1964,with whites switching to theRepublican Party.
Current elected officials
[edit]The South Carolina Democratic Party currently control one statewide office and holds minorities in both theSouth Carolina SenateandHouse of Representatives.Democrats hold one of the state's seven U.S. House seats.
Members of Congress
[edit]U.S. Senate
[edit]Republicans have controlled both of South Carolina's seats in theU.S. Senatesince2005.Fritz Hollingswas the last Democrat to represent South Carolina in the U.S. Senate. First elected in a1966 special election,Hollings opted to retire instead of seeking a seventh full term. Superintendent of EducationInez Tenenbaumran as the Democratic nominee in the2004 electionand was subsequently defeated by Republican challengerJim DeMint.
- None
U.S. House of Representatives
[edit]Out of the seven seats South Carolina is apportioned in theU.S. House of Representatives,one is held by Democrats:
| District | Member | Photo |
|---|---|---|
| 6th | Jim Clyburn |  |
Statewide offices
[edit]- Comptroller General:Brian J. Gaines(appointed)
South Carolina has not elected any Democratic candidates to statewide office since 2006, whenJim Rexwas elected as the Superintendent of Education. In 2010, Rex opted not to run for re-election, instead running unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination forGovernor.
State legislative leaders
[edit]Officers and staff
[edit]As of April 29, 2023, the state party officers were:[4]
- Chair: Christale Spain
- 1st Vice Chair: Colleen Condon
- 2nd Vice Chair: Mayra Rivera-Vazquez
- 3rd Vice Chair: Michelle Brandt
- Secretary: Joyce Rose-Harris
- Treasurer: Kendra Dove
State Party Staff:[5]
- Executive Director: Jay Parmley
- Finance Director: Ellen Stankiewicz
- Communications Coordinator: Grace Whaley
- Political Director: Angela Clyburn
Members of the Democratic National Committee
[edit]Three members of the South Carolina Democratic Party also serve on theDemocratic National Committee.[4]These are:
- Bre Maxwell
- Carol Fowler
- Clay Middleton
See also
[edit]- Progressive Democratic Party (South Carolina)
- South Carolina Republican Party
- South Carolina Green Party
- South Carolina Workers Party
- Alliance Party
References
[edit]- ^Bass, Jack. Thompon, Marilyn. "Strom". PublicAffairs, 2005.
- ^Katznelson, Ira (2013).Fear Itself: The New Deal and the Origins of our Time. New York,NY: Liveright Publishing Corporation.ISBN978-0-87140-450-3.OCLC783163618.
- ^Scoppe, Cindi Ross (December 16, 2015)."Constitution of 1895 stripped blacks, poor whites of vote, still rules SC 120 years later".The State.RetrievedSeptember 25,2017.
- ^ab"Party Leadership".scdp.org.Archived fromthe originalon 17 July 2015.Retrieved1 May2023.
- ^"SCDP Team".scdp.org.Archived fromthe originalon 2015-07-26.
External links
[edit]- South Carolina Democratic Party
- Democratic Party of South Carolina Recordsat the University of South Carolina's South Carolina Political Collections
- South Carolina Young Democrats
- South Carolina High School Democrats
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