Ohio Democratic Party

Ohio Democratic Party
Ohio Democratic Party Logo

The Ohio Democratic Party is the Ohio affiliate to the United States Democratic Party. Former Ohio House Minority Leader Chris Redfern is the Ohio Democratic Party chairman. Redfern was elected to office in December 2005. He had been a member of the Ohio House of Representatives since 1999.

Contents

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 itself in many Democratic ideals. This was greatly aided 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 2005 Chris Redfern became the chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party. Redfern primarily focused on building a state wide organization that had the power to win every part of Ohio. In 2006, after a 16-year drought, Ohio elected a Democratic senator, governor, 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, the democrats of Ohio won back the House of Representatives after 14 years of Republican control. Many famous Ohio Democrats held positions in these state offices:

State executive

U.S. Congress

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 one seat on the Ohio Supreme Court, one of the state's U.S. Senate seats and five of the state's 13 U.S. House seats.


State legislature
Ohio Supreme Court
  • Associate Justice Yvette McGee Brown
Federal
Local

The following Democrats hold prominent mayoralties in Ohio:

Prominent Ohio Democrats of the past

Party symbols

The 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.

See also

External links

v · d · eOhio political parties on the ballot in 2010
Major
Democratic • Republican
Minor
v · d · eDemocratic Party
Chairpersons
of the DNC
Presidential tickets
Parties by state
and territory
State
Territory
Conventions
(List)
Affiliated
organizations
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