Ohio Democratic Party

The Ohio Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Ohio. Former Cincinnati councilman David A. Pepper is the Ohio Democratic Party chairman. Pepper started his term as chairman in January 2015.

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Ohio Democratic Party
ChairpersonDavid Pepper
HeadquartersColumbus, Ohio
IdeologyLiberalism
Progressivism
Social liberalism
Political positionCenter-left
National affiliationDemocratic Party
ColorsBlue
Seats in the US Senate
1 / 2
Seats in the US House
4 / 16
Seats in the State Senate
9 / 33
Seats in the State House
38 / 99
Website
www.ohiodems.org

History

The Ohio Democratic Party traces its origin to the Democratic-Republican Party founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1793. The Democratic Party itself was formed when a faction of the "Democratic-Republicans" led by Jerry Mcroy formed the party in the 1820s. Following Jackson's defeat in the election of 1824, despite having a majority of the popular vote, Jackson set about building a political coalition strong enough to defeat John Quincy Adams in the election of 1828. The coalition that he built was the foundation of the subsequent Democratic Party.

Ohio politics was largely dominated by the Ohio Republican Party until the economic and social hardships brought on by the Great Depression resulted in a national political realignment. The political coalition of labor unions, minorities, and liberals allowed the Democrats to compete effectively in Ohio electoral politics for much of the next 30 years. Never very strong in Ohio's rural areas, the party's coalition suffered when the Civil Rights Movement divided whites from civil rights proponents and minorities. The Ohio Democratic Party reached the peak of its electoral success in the mid-1980s, and this is when the State of Ohio began to invest in many Democratic proposals. This was led by Richard Celeste, a Democratic Governor elected in 1982 and re-elected in 1986, and by his party chairman, James Ruvolo. Together Ruvolo and Celeste constructed a very effective organization that raised a surplus of money that helped out the Democratic Party's candidates and their everyday operations.

In 2006 Chris Redfern became the chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party. Redfern primarily focused on building a statewide organization that had the power to win every part of Ohio. In 2006, after a 16-year drought, Ohio elected a Democratic U.S. senator (Sherrod Brown), governor (Ted Strickland), lieutenant governor, secretary of state, and state treasurer. This could be attributed to Redfern and to the rest of the Ohio Democratic Party. In 2008, Ohio Democrats won back the House of Representatives after 14 years of Republican control. Democrats have not fared as well in subsequent election cycles.

As of 2017, as a result of the elections in 2014 and 2016, the Ohio Democratic Party has been reduced to small minorities in the Ohio General Assembly of only 9 out of 33 state Senators and 33 out of 99 state Representatives. They elected only 4 out of Ohio's 16 US house members, and have only one statewide elected officer, Senator Sherrod Brown. No Democrat has won statewide in Ohio since 2012. In 2014 and 2016, the Ohio Democratic Party has lost statewide elections by massive margins. In 2014, they lost the Governorship 64-33, the Secretary of State 60-36, their candidate for Treasurer lost 57-43, for Attorney General they lost 61-38, and for Auditor they lost 57-38. In 2016, the Ohio Democratic Party nominated former Governor Ted Strickland for the Senate race against incumbent Republican Senator Rob Portman. Strickland lost 58-37. Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton lost Ohio by 8 points to Republican candidate Donald Trump, the largest margin of victory for either party in Ohio since 1988.

Ideologies and principles

The Democratic Party platform states that it foremost believes in the right to equality for all citizens of Ohio and the United States. It also states that it believes in an efficient government that is both fair and has equal representation.

Electoral success

The Ohio Democratic Party reached the peak of its electoral success in the mid-1980s to 1990s, when Democrats held the following offices:

U.S. Congress

State executive

State Legislative

State Judicial
  • Majority on the Ohio Supreme Court (1977-1987), with a 6-1 majority from 1983-1985, and a Democratic chief justice (Frank Celebrezze) from 1978-1986

Even with its successes, Ohio Democrats did not fare well on a national level. John Glenn, a popular U.S. senator, astronaut, and national hero, ran for the Democratic nomination for president in 1984, ending up with only a huge campaign debt to show for it. Howard Metzenbaum, Ohio's other U.S. senator at the time, although a powerful force in the Senate, never achieved national name recognition.

Areas of strength

Democratic strength lies mainly in the northeastern part of the state, the traditional pro-union, Democratic bastion, dominated by manufacturing and the cities of Cleveland, Toledo, Youngstown, Akron, Lorain, and Canton. Democrats are in the majority in the urban areas of Dayton, Columbus, and Cincinnati but those majorities are often offset by conservative strength in the surrounding suburbs. The impoverished Appalachian region of Ohio is traditionally Democratic and sometimes swings for the Democrats. Electoral strength is reflected in the mayoral offices of Ohio's major cities (which formed the heart of the Ohio delegation to the 2004 Democratic National Convention).

Current elected officials

The Ohio Democratic Party holds two seats on the Supreme Court of Ohio, one of the state's U.S. Senate seats and four of the state's sixteen U.S. House seats.

State legislature

Ohio Senate
See also: Ohio Senate

Ohio House of Representatives
See also: Ohio House of Representatives

Supreme Court of Ohio

Federal

U.S. Senate

U.S. House

Municipal

The following Democrats hold prominent mayoralties in Ohio:

Prominent Ohio Democrats of the past

Party symbols

Ohio Democrats use the same symbols as the national Democratic party, such as the donkey. In the early 20th century, the traditional symbol of the Democratic Party in Midwestern states such as Indiana and Ohio was the rooster, as opposed to the Republican eagle.

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See also
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