Florida Democratic Party

Florida Democratic Party
Florida Democratic Party
Chairman Rod Smith
Ideology American Liberalism
Blue Dog Democrat
Progressivism
Center-left
National affiliation Democratic Party
Official colors Blue
Politics of the United States
Political parties
Elections

The Florida Democratic Party (FDP) is the official organization for Democrats in the state of Florida.

Contents

History

The Florida Democratic Party has historically dominated Florida's state and local politics. Florida's Governor's Mansion was closed to Republicans from 1877 until 1967, when Claude R. Kirk, a Republican from Jacksonville, was sworn-in as Governor of Florida.

Florida politics was largely dominated by the Democrats until Nixon's Southern Strategy, which took advantage of white objections to the advances of the American Civil Rights Movement resulted in a regional political realignment for the south. After Nixon's victory in 1968, the state only voted Democratic in three Presidential elections: 1976 (Jimmy Carter), 1996 (Bill Clinton), and 2008 (Barack Obama). The presidential election in 2000 was decided by a margin of 537 votes out of approximately 6 million cast, earning George W. Bush the presidency over Al Gore.

The Florida Senate was dominated by Democrats until 1992, when a majority of Republicans was elected. The Florida House of Representatives turned Republican after the November 1996 election. Since then, the number of Democrats in both chambers have continued to drop. The Florida Legislature became the first legislature in any of the states of the former confederacy to come under complete Republican control when the Republicans gained control of the House and Senate in the 1996 election. However, in the 2006 election the Democrats actually gained seats in the State House, the first instance of this occurring since the early 1980s.

In the 2006 election, the Democratic nominee for Governor was U.S. Representative Jim Davis from Tampa, Florida. He lost the election to Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist.

The most Democratic region of the state is South Florida, which contains the large cities of Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach. The Tampa Bay region is also relatively Democratic, although it has become much more competitive in recent electoral cycles. Leon County, which contains the state capitol of Tallahassee, and Alachua County, home to the city of Gainesville and the University of Florida, are also strong Democratic areas. North Florida and the panhandle are also very Democratic on the local level, although those two regions are solid Republican strongholds in presidential elections.

Florida Democrats demanded, on March 13 2008, a new primary vote, and state party officials have a proposal for recouping the 210 delegates the Sunshine State lost when it moved its primary ahead of the approved time frame.[1] After weeks of negotiations, the Florida Democratic Party said March 17 2008 it would not hold a second primary in the state.[2]

The current chairman of the Florida Democratic Party is former Florida State Senator Rod Smith.

Current Federal Democratic Officeholders

United States Senate

U.S. Senators
Bill Nelson, Senior Member of the United States Senate from the state of Florida.

United States House of Representatives

U.S. Representatives
Corrine Brown, 3rd District- Gainesville, Jacksonville, Orlando.
Kathy Castor, 11th District- Tampa, St. Petersburg.
Frederica Wilson, 17th District- Hollywood, North Miami, Pembroke Pines.
Ted Deutch, 19th District- Greenacres, Coral Springs.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz, 20th District- Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Davie.
Alcee Hastings, 23rd District- West Palm Beach, Pompano Beach, Delray Beach.

Former Florida Governors and U.S. Senators

Governors

William Moseley
William Moseley
Former Governors of Florida
Buddy MacKay
Lawton Chiles
Wayne Mixson
Bob Graham
Reubin Askew
W. Haydon Burns
C. Farris Bryant
LeRoy Collins
Daniel McCarty
Fuller Warren
Miller Caldwell
Spessard Holland
Fred Cone
David Sholtz
Doyle Carlton
John Martin
Cary Hardee
Park Trammell
Albert Gilchrist
Napoleon Broward
William Jennings
William Bloxham
Henry Mitchell
Francis Fleming
Edward Perry
William Bloxham
George Drew
Abraham Allison
John Milton
Madison Perry
James Broome
William Moseley

United States Senators

Former U.S. Senators from Florida
Bob Graham
Lawton Chiles
Richard Stone
George Smathers
Spessard Holland
Charles Andrews
Scott Loftin
Claude Pepper
William Luther Hill
Park Trammell
Nathan Bryan
James Taliaferro
Duncan Fletcher
William Milton
William James Bryan
Samuel Pasco
Charles Jones
Stephen Mallory II
Wilkinson Call
Stephen Mallory
James Westcott
David Levy Yulee


See also

External links


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