West Virginia Democratic Party | |
---|---|
Chairperson | Mike Pushkin |
Headquarters | Charleston, West Virginia |
Membership (2024) | 355,630 |
Ideology | Modern liberalism |
National affiliation | Democratic Party |
Colors | Blue |
U.S. Senate | 0 / 2 |
U.S. House | 0 / 2 |
Executive offices | 0 / 6 |
Senate | 3 / 34 |
House of Delegates | 11 / 100 |
Website | |
wvdemocrats | |
The West Virginia Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of West Virginia.
Although West Virginia was historically one of the most Democratic-voting states in the nation, the party has gradually lost ground in the state in the 21st century. It currently holds no elected statewide offices, no congressional seats, and minorities in both houses of the state legislature.
The state of West Virginia granted itself statehood after its people, through a state constitutional convention, became a free state and broke away from the slave holding state of Virginia in 1861 during the first year of the Civil War. Article IV of the U.S. Constitution requires consent of the newly formed state, the original state, and Congress. The pro-Union Restored Government of Virginia had been recognized by Washington as the legitimate government of the entire Commonwealth, and quickly asserted its right to consent to the formation of the new state. After Congressional consent, self-statehood was gained and political party formation prospered. [1]
The West Virginia Democratic Party was started as a coalition of conservative Pro-Union Democrats, Pro-Confederate Democrats, and former members of the Whig Party. After 1872, its political dominance flourished when restrictions that disenfranchised former Confederates were struck from the state constitution. [2]
The West Virginia Democratic Party holds minorities in both state legislative chambers. [3] [4] Democrats hold none of the state's U.S. House seats. Incumbent governor Jim Justice was elected as a Democrat in 2016, but switched parties to Republican in August 2017. [5] Senator Joe Manchin was West Virginia's only congressional Democrat from 2015 to 2024, and the state's only Democratic statewide officeholder from 2021 to 2024, before changing his party affiliation to independent.
Democratic and Republican parties have dominated the American political scene for close to two centuries. In West Virginia, the Republican Union-supporting party held political power in the state from 1863 to 1872. The Democrats took power in the 1872 elections and held it until 1896. Republicans once again had control in 1896 until 1932. During the Great Depression, The Democratic Party began its dominance that lasted until 2014.
From 1930 to 2014, Democrats held majorities in both chambers of the West Virginia Legislature. [6]
The party organization is governed by the West Virginia State Democratic Executive Committee. This committee comprises its leadership. The chair is Delegate Mike Pushkin [7] and the vice chairwoman is Wheeling attorney Teresa Toriseva. [8]
These are tables of congressional delegations from West Virginia to the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate.
Joseph Manchin III is an American politician and businessman serving as the senior United States senator from West Virginia, a seat he has held since 2010. Manchin was the 34th governor of West Virginia from 2005 to 2010 and the 27th secretary of state of West Virginia from 2001 to 2005. He became the state's senior U.S. senator when Jay Rockefeller left office in 2015 and was West Virginia's only congressional Democrat until 2024, when he registered as an independent. Before entering politics, Manchin helped found and was the president of Enersystems, a coal brokerage company his family owns and operates.
The 2006 United States Senate election in West Virginia was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democrat Robert Byrd won re-election to a ninth term. He was sworn in on January 3, 2007. However, he died in office on June 28, 2010, before the end of his term.
John Jeremiah Jacob was a Democratic politician from Green Spring in, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Jacob served two terms as the fourth governor of West Virginia. He was also elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates from Hampshire County in 1868 and from Ohio County in 1879.
From the time of the Great Depression through the 1990s, the politics of West Virginia were largely dominated by the Democratic Party. In the 2000 presidential election, George W. Bush claimed a surprise victory over Al Gore, with 52% of the vote; he won West Virginia again in 2004, with 56% of the vote. West Virginia is now a heavily Republican state, with John McCain winning the state in 2008, Mitt Romney in 2012 and Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020.
The Oklahoma Democratic Party is an Oklahoma political party affiliated with the Democratic Party. Along with the Oklahoma Republican Party, it is one of the two major parties in the state.
The politics of Oklahoma exists in a framework of a presidential republic modeled after the United States. The governor of Oklahoma is both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform two-party system. Executive power is exercised by the governor and the government. Legislative power is vested in the governor and the bicameral Oklahoma Legislature. Judicial power is vested in the judiciary of Oklahoma. The political system is laid out in the 1907 Oklahoma Constitution.
The Democratic Party of Oregon is the Oregon affiliate of the Democratic Party. The State Central Committee, made up of two delegates elected from each of Oregon's 36 counties and one additional delegate for every 15,000 registered Democrats, is the main authoritative body of the party. The party has 17 special group caucuses which also each have representation on the State Central Committee.
The Democratic Party of Arkansas is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Arkansas. The current party chair is Grant Tennille. Former U.S. president Bill Clinton was born in Arkansas, and served as state governor from 1979 to 1981 and 1983 to 1992.
The West Virginia Republican Party is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in West Virginia. Matthew Herridge is the party chair. It is currently the dominant party in the state, and is one of the strongest affiliates of the national Republican Party. It controls both of West Virginia's U.S. House seats, one of the U.S. Senate seats, the governorship, and has supermajorities in both houses of the state legislature.
The Alabama Republican Party is the state affiliate of the Republican Party in Alabama. It is the dominant political party in Alabama. The state party is governed by the Alabama Republican Executive Committee. The committee usually meets twice a year. As of the February 23, 2019 meeting in Birmingham, the committee is composed of 463 members. Most of the committee's members are elected in district elections across Alabama. The district members are elected in the Republican Primary once every four years, with the most recent election for the committee having been on June 5, 2018. The new committee takes office following the general election in November 2018. In addition, all 67 county GOP chairmen have automatic seats as voting members. The state chairman can appoint 10 members. Each county committee can appoint bonus members based on a formula that theoretically could add 312 seats, although that formula currently calls for only about 50 seats.
Washington ratified its constitution and held its first state elections in 1889, the year it was admitted to the union as a state. It established the positions of governor, lieutenant governor, Secretary of State, attorney general, state treasurer, state auditor, Commissioner of Public Lands, and Superintendent of Public Instruction. The position of insurance commissioner was legislatively established in 1907. All positions are elected to four-year terms, concurrent with presidential elections. Washington is one of three states that elects nine separate statewide officials, while six others elect ten.
The 2010 congressional elections in West Virginia were held on November 2, 2010, to determine who would represent the state of West Virginia in the United States House of Representatives. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; the elected served in the 112th Congress from January 2011 until January 2013.
The 2012 United States Senate election in West Virginia was held on November 6, 2012, to elect one of West Virginia's two members of the U.S. Senate for a six-year term. In a rematch of the 2010 special election, incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Joe Manchin won re-election to a first full term against the Republican nominee, John Raese. Notably, Manchin outperformed Barack Obama in the concurrent presidential election by 25.06 percentage points in vote share, and by 50.86 percentage points on margin.
The 2016 West Virginia gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2016, to elect the governor of West Virginia, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. The primaries were held on May 10.
The 2018 United States Senate election in West Virginia took place on November 6, 2018, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of West Virginia, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections. This was one of ten Democratic-held Senate seats up for election in a state won by Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.
The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia were held on November 8, 2022, to elect the two U.S. representatives from the State of West Virginia, one from each of the state's two congressional districts. The elections coincided with other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections.
The 2024 United States Senate election in West Virginia will be held on November 5, 2024, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of West Virginia. Democratic Wheeling mayor Glenn Elliott and Republican governor Jim Justice are seeking their first term in office. The winner will succeed independent incumbent Joe Manchin, who is not seeking a third full term. Manchin was elected in the 2010 special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by incumbent Democrat Robert Byrd, who died in office on June 28, 2010, and was elected to a full term in 2012 and 2018.
Danielle Walker is an American politician and community activist, who served as a Democratic member of the West Virginia House of Delegates from 2018 until her resignation in 2023. Through her tenure, Walker was the only Black woman serving in the West Virginia Legislature. In June 2022, Walker was elected vice chair of the West Virginia Democratic Party, she later resigned as vice chairwoman after her selection as the leader of the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia.
The 2024 West Virginia gubernatorial election will be held on November 5, 2024, to elect the governor of West Virginia, concurrently with the 2024 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Republican state attorney general Patrick Morrisey and Democratic Huntington mayor Steve Williams are seeking their first term in office. Incumbent Republican Jim Justice is term-limited and cannot seek re-election to a third consecutive term in office; he is instead running for the U.S. Senate. First elected in 2016 as a Democrat by 6.8 percentage points, Justice switched parties in August 2017 and won re-election in 2020 as a Republican by 33.3 percentage points. Primary elections took place on May 14, 2024.