Southern Democrats are members of the U.S. Democratic Party who reside in the Southern United States .
75-632: Blue Dog may refer to: The Blue Dog Coalition , a group of conservative Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives Blue Dog Lake , a lake in South Dakota Blue Dog , a painting and a featured icon in various works by George Rodrigue Blue Dog Records was a London-based independent record label linked to the Barfly club The Blue Dog, one of
150-416: A Democrat and the governor of Virginia (2018–22), admitted that he voted for George W. Bush in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. Despite this admission, Northam, a former state Senator who has served as Lieutenant Governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018, easily defeated the more progressive and cosmopolitan candidate, former Representative Tom Perriello , by 55.9 percent to 44.1 percent to win
225-556: A Democrat, being the last Democratic presidential candidate to win a majority of the states in the South as of 2024. In 1980 Republican presidential nominee Ronald Reagan won every southern state except for Georgia, although Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, Arkansas, North Carolina and Tennessee were all decided by less than 3%. In 1980, Republican presidential nominee Ronald Reagan announced that he supported "states' rights." Lee Atwater , who served as Reagan's chief strategist in
300-827: A Unionist Governor Thomas Holliday Hicks and the Union Army. Armed with the suspension of habeas corpus and Union troops, Governor Hicks was able to stop Maryland's secession movement. Maryland was the only state south of the Mason–Dixon line whose governor affirmed Lincoln's call for 75,000 troops. After secession, the Democratic vote in the North split between the War Democrats and the Peace Democrats or " Copperheads ". The War Democrats voted for Lincoln in
375-590: A strong base among the Southern middle class. The Republican Party regained Congress in 1919. Southern Democrats held powerful positions in Congress during the Wilson Administration, with one study noting “Though comprising only about half of the Democratic senators and slightly over two-fifths of the Democratic representatives, the southerners made up a large majority of the party’s senior members in
450-646: A strong national defense and bipartisan consensus rather than conflict with Republicans". It acts as a check on legislation that its members perceive to be too far to the right or to the left on the political spectrum. In the 2010s, the Blue Dogs became more demographically diverse and less conservative. The Blue Dog Coalition is often involved in searching for a compromise between liberal and conservative positions, including classically liberal policies. Most of its members represent competitive swing districts , and are thus inclined to appeal to swing voters . In
525-552: Is called the Southern Strategy , though his speechwriter Jeffrey Hart claimed that his campaign rhetoric was actually a " Border State Strategy" and accused the press of being "very lazy" when they called it a "Southern Strategy". In the 1971 Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education ruling, the power of the federal government to enforce forced busing was strengthened when the Supreme Court ruled that
600-595: The 104th Congress to give members from the Democratic Party representing conservative-leaning districts a unified voice after the Democrats' loss of Congress in the 1994 Republican Revolution . The term "Blue Dog Democrat" is credited to Texas Democratic Representative Pete Geren (who later joined the George W. Bush administration ). Geren opined that the members had been "choked blue" by Democrats on
675-538: The 1864 election , and Lincoln had a War Democrat — Andrew Johnson — on his ticket. In the South, during Reconstruction the White Republican element, called " Scalawags " became smaller and smaller as more and more joined the Democrats. In the North, most War Democrats returned to the Democrats, and when the " Panic of 1873 " hit, the Republican Party was blamed and the Democrats gained control of
750-821: The American Civil War , Southern Democrats were mostly whites living in the South who believed in Jacksonian democracy . In the 19th century, they defended slavery in the United States and promoted its expansion into the Western United States against the Free Soil opposition in the Northern United States. The United States presidential election of 1860 formalized the split in the Democratic Party and brought about
825-477: The American Civil War . After the Reconstruction Era ended in the late 1870s, so-called redeemers were Southern Democrats who controlled all the southern states and disenfranchised African-Americans. The monopoly that the Democratic Party held over most of the South showed signs of breaking apart in 1948, when many white Southern Democrats—upset by the policies of desegregation enacted during
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#1732801713670900-587: The Bible Belt . The South gradually became fertile ground for the Republican Party. Following the Voting Rights Act of 1965 , the large Black vote in the South held steady but overwhelmingly favored the Democratic Party. Even as the Democratic party came to increasingly depend on the support of African-American voters in the South, well-established White Democratic incumbents still held sway in most Southern states for decades. Starting in 1964, although
975-701: The Blue Dogs or Blue Dog Democrats , is a caucus of moderate members from the Democratic Party in the United States House of Representatives . The caucus was founded as a group of conservative Democrats in 1995 in response to defeats in the 1994 elections . Historically, the Blue Dog Coalition has been both fiscally and socially conservative . At its peak in 2009, the Blue Dog Coalition numbered 54 members. In
1050-500: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 . These actions led to heavy opposition from Southern Democrats. Many scholars have stated that southern whites shifted to the Republican Party after a civil rights culture change and accepted social conservatism . Republicans first dominated presidential elections in the South, then won a majority of Southern gubernatorial and congressional elections after
1125-588: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a significant event in converting the Deep South to the Republican Party; in that year most Senatorial Republicans supported the Act (most of the opposition came from Southern Democrats). From the end of the Civil War to 1961 Democrats had solid control over the southern states on the national level, hence the term " Solid South " to describe the states' Democratic preference. After
1200-1185: The Delaware General Assembly , the Louisiana State Legislature , the Maryland General Assembly , the Mississippi Legislature , the North Carolina General Assembly , and the West Virginia Legislature , along with the Council of the District of Columbia , the Kentucky House of Representatives , and the Virginia Senate . Democrats lost control of the North Carolina and Alabama legislatures in 2010,
1275-671: The House Energy and Commerce Committee successfully delayed the House vote on the Health Insurance Reform Bill (HR3200) until after the summer recess. It was during this recess that the term 'Obamacare' was first derisively adopted by Republicans on Capitol Hill. Blue Dog opposition to a potential "public option" within Obamacare, together with the contentious town hall meetings faced by House members during
1350-779: The Roman Catholic Al Smith , but the behavior was short lived as the Stock Market Crash of 1929 returned Republicans to disfavor throughout the South. Nationally, Republicans lost Congress in January 1931 and the White House in March 1933 by huge margins. By this time, too, the Democratic Party leadership began to change its tone somewhat on racial politics. With the Great Depression gripping
1425-541: The "blue" public houses and inns in Grantham The Blue Dogs (band) , an American band formed in 1987 See also [ edit ] Blue's Clues , a television show with a dog named Blue Blue, a general description for the color of some dogs' coats Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Blue Dog . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
1500-431: The 1960s catalyzed the end of this Democratic Party coalition of interests by magnetizing Black voters to the Democratic label and simultaneously ending White supremacist control of the Democratic Party apparatus. A series of court decisions, rendering primary elections as public instead of private events administered by the parties, essentially freed the Southern region to change more toward the two-party behavior of most of
1575-705: The 1970s and 1980s who supported local and statewide conservative Democrats while simultaneously voting for Republican presidential candidates. This tendency of many Southern Whites to vote for the Republican presidential candidate but Democrats from other offices lasted until the 2010 midterm elections. In the November 2008 elections , Democrats won 3 out of 4 U.S. House seats from Mississippi, 3 out of 4 in Arkansas, 5 out of 9 in Tennessee, and achieved near parity in
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#17328017136701650-495: The 1974 Milliken v. Bradley decision, however, the ability to use forced busing as a political tactic was greatly diminished when the U.S. Supreme Court placed an important limitation on Swann and ruled that students could only be bused across district lines if evidence of de jure segregation across multiple school districts existed. In 1976 , former Georgia governor Jimmy Carter won every Southern state except Oklahoma and Virginia in his successful presidential campaign as
1725-678: The 1994 Republican Revolution . By the 21st century, and especially after the 2010 midterm elections , the Republican Party had gained a solid advantage over the Democratic Party in most southern states. Southern Democrats of the 21st century tend to be more progressive than their predecessors. The title of "Democrat" has its beginnings in the South, going back to the founding of the Democratic-Republican Party in 1793 by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison . It held to small government principles and distrusted
1800-496: The 2009 summer recess, gave the healthcare law's Republican opponents an opportunity to attack the "public option" and get it removed from the bill. The Washington Post stated that the Blue Dogs, with over 50 members, were the most influential voting bloc in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010. The Blue Dog Coalition suffered serious losses in the 2010 midterm elections , losing over half of its seats to Republican challengers. Its members, who were roughly one quarter of
1875-717: The Coalition included 10 members. At that point, the Coalition's membership was smaller than it had ever been since its formation. The co-chairs of the Blue Dog Coalition for the 118th Congress are U.S. representatives Jared Golden , Mary Peltola , and Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez . Alaska California Georgia Maine New Jersey North Carolina Texas Washington Southern Democrats Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Miscellaneous Other Before
1950-492: The Democratic Party's caucus in the 111th Congress, accounted for half of the party's midterm election losses. Including retirements, Blue Dog numbers in the House were reduced from 59 members in 2009 to 26 members in 2011. Two of the Coalition's four leaders ( Stephanie Herseth Sandlin and Baron Hill ) failed to secure re-election. The caucus shrank even more in the 2012 House of Representatives elections , decreasing in size from 27 to 14 members. Speculation ensued that
2025-569: The Democratic Party. The New Deal program of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) generally united the party factions for over three decades, since Southerners, like Northern urban populations, were hit particularly hard and generally benefited from the massive governmental relief program. FDR was adept at holding White Southerners in the coalition while simultaneously beginning the erosion of Black voters away from their then-characteristic Republican preferences. The Civil Rights Movement of
2100-944: The Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2017. Both of Virginia's U.S. Senators are Democrats, while the incumbent governor Glenn Youngkin is a Republican. As of the 2020s, Southern Democrats who consistently vote for the Democratic ticket are mostly urban liberals or African Americans, while most White Southerners of both genders tend to vote for the Republican ticket, although there are sizable numbers of swing voters who sometimes split their tickets or cross party lines. Individuals are organized in sections by chronological (century they died or are still alive) order and then alphabetical order (last name then first name) within sections. Current or former U.S. Presidents or Vice presidents have their own section that begins first, but not former Confederate States Presidents or Vice presidents. Also, incumbent federal or statewide officeholders begin second. At various times, registered Democrats from
2175-469: The Democrats if Republicans enforced the Voting Rights Act and blacks registered as Democrats. The trend toward acceptance of Republican identification among Southern White voters was bolstered in the next two elections by Richard Nixon . Denouncing the forced busing policy that was used to enforce school desegregation, Richard Nixon courted populist conservative Southern Whites with what
2250-581: The Democrats were dominant. Northern Democrats were in serious opposition to Southern Democrats on the issue of slavery; Northern Democrats, led by Stephen Douglas, believed in Popular Sovereignty —letting the people of the territories vote on slavery. The Southern Democrats, reflecting the views of the late John C. Calhoun , insisted slavery was national. The Democrats controlled the national government from 1853 until 1861, and presidents Pierce and Buchanan were friendly to Southern interests. In
2325-587: The Democrats' gains in the House. In 2018, for the first time since 2006, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee partnered with the Blue Dog PAC (the Blue Dog Coalition's political organization) to recruit candidates in competitive districts across the country. After the 2018 House of Representatives elections , the caucus grew from 18 members to 24. All incumbents were re-elected and Rep. Kyrsten Sinema
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2400-567: The District of Columbia; they had lost control of both houses of the state legislatures in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and West Virginia. Nearly all White Democratic representatives in the South lost reelection in the 2010 midterm elections . That year, Democrats won only one U.S. House seat each in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Arkansas, and two out of nine House seats in Tennessee, and they lost their one Arkansas seat in 2012. Following
2475-636: The Georgia and Alabama delegations. Republicans first dominated presidential elections in the South, then won a majority of Southern gubernatorial and congressional elections after the 1994 Republican Revolution , and finally came to control a majority of Southern state legislatures by the 2010s. In 2009, Southern Democrats controlled both branches of the Alabama General Assembly , the Arkansas General Assembly ,
2550-488: The House of Representatives in 1875. The Democrats emphasized that since Jefferson and Jackson they had been the party of states rights , which added to their appeal in the White South. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Democrats, led by the dominant Southern wing, had a strong representation in Congress. They won both houses in 1912 and elected Woodrow Wilson , a New Jersey academic with deep Southern roots and
2625-738: The Louisiana and Mississippi legislatures in 2011 and the Arkansas legislature in 2012. Additionally, in 2014, Democrats lost four U.S. Senate seats in the South (in West Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas, and Louisiana) that they had previously held. By 2017, Southern Democrats only controlled both branches of the Delaware General Assembly and the Maryland General Assembly, along with the Council of
2700-474: The North, the newly formed anti-slavery Republican Party came to power and dominated the electoral college. In the 1860 presidential election , the Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln , but the divide among Democrats led to the nomination of two candidates: John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky represented Southern Democrats, and Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois represented Northern Democrats. Nevertheless,
2775-546: The November 2010 elections, John Barrow of Georgia was left as the only White Democratic U.S. House member in the Deep South, and he lost reelection in 2014. There would no more White Democrats from the Deep South until Joe Cunningham was elected from a South Carolina U.S. House district in 2018, and he lost re-election in 2020. However, even since January 2015, Democrats have not been completely shut out of power in
2850-668: The President, a compromise was eventually reached and the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act was signed into law on August 22, 1996. During the Clinton administration , the southern strategy shifted towards the so-called " culture war ," which saw major political battles between the Religious Right and the secular Left. Chapman notes a split vote among many conservative Southern Democrats in
2925-420: The Republican Party – both also had Rodrigue's paintings on their walls. An additional explanation for the term cited by members is "when dogs are not let into the house, they stay outside in the cold and turn blue", a reference to the Blue Dogs' belief they had been left out of a party that they believed had shifted to the political left. At one time, first-term Blue Dogs were nicknamed 'Blue Pups'. Starting in
3000-522: The Republicans had a majority of the electoral vote regardless of how the opposition split or joined and Abraham Lincoln was elected. After the election of Abraham Lincoln , Southern Democrats led the charge to secede from the Union and establish the Confederate States . The United States Congress was dominated by Republicans; a notable exception was Democrat Andrew Johnson of Tennessee ,
3075-403: The South broke with the national party to nominate their own presidential and vice presidential candidates, generally in opposition to civil rights measures supported by the national nominees. There was at least one Southern Democratic effort in every presidential election from 1944 until 1968, besides 1952. On some occasions, such as in 1948 with Strom Thurmond, these candidates have been listed on
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3150-494: The South. Democrat John Bel Edwards was elected governor of Louisiana in 2015 and won re-election in 2019 , running as an anti-abortion , pro-gun conservative Democrat . In a 2017 special election , moderate Democrat Doug Jones was elected a U.S. Senator from Alabama, though he lost re-election in 2020 . Democrat Roy Cooper was elected governor of North Carolina in 2016 and won re-election in 2020 . Southern Democrats saw some additional successes in 2019, as Andy Beshear
3225-590: The South. In the 2018 elections, Democrats nearly succeeded in taking governor's seats in Georgia and Florida and gained 12 national House seats in the South; the trend continued in the 2019 elections, where Democrats took both houses of the Virginia General Assembly , and in 2020 where Joe Biden narrowly won Georgia with Republicans winning down ballot, along with Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff narrowly winning both U.S. Senate seats in that state just two months later. However, Democrats would lose
3300-540: The Southern states split their support between parties in most presidential elections, conservative Democrats controlled nearly every Southern state legislature until the mid-1990s. On the eve of the Republican Revolution in 1994, Democrats still held a 2:1 advantage over the Republicans in southern congressional seats. Only in 2011 did the Republicans capture a majority of Southern state legislatures, and have continued to hold power over Southern politics for
3375-464: The Southern states, claimed that by 1968, a vast majority of southern Whites had learned to accept that racial slurs like " nigger " were offensive and that mentioning "states rights" and reasons for its justification, along with fiscal conservatism and opposition to social programs understood by many White southerners to disproportionally benefit Black Americans, had now become the best way to appeal to southern White voters. Following Reagan's success at
3450-484: The administration of Democratic President Harry Truman —created the States Rights Democratic Party . This new party, commonly referred to as the " Dixiecrats ", nominated South Carolina Governor Strom Thurmond for president. The new party collapsed after Truman won the 1948 United States presidential election . Despite being a Southern Democrat himself, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed
3525-587: The ballot in some states as the nominee of the Democratic Party. George Wallace of Alabama was in presidential politics as a conservative Democrat except 1968, when he left the party and ran as an independent. Running as the nominees of the American Independent Party , the Wallace ticket won 5 states. Its best result was in Alabama, where it received 65.9% of the vote. Wallace was the official Democratic nominee in Alabama and Hubert Humphrey
3600-554: The centrist New Democrat Coalition would fill the power vacuum created by the Blue Dog Coalition's decline. Opposition to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and climate change legislation are believed to have contributed to the defeat of two conservative Democrats in the 2012 House elections in Pennsylvania by more liberal opponents. In the 2016 elections, future Blue Dogs accounted for over half of
3675-555: The closely divided 118th Congress. The effort included a recruitment drive which prompted Mary Peltola (AK-AL), Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez (WA-03), and Wiley Nickel (NC-13) to join, bringing the number of members back up to 10. Under the leadership of Peltola, Perez, and Representative Jared Golden , the caucus shifted its focus towards ideological centrism and pragmatic, constituency-based (especially rural and working-class) politics. The Blue Dog Coalition's positions are socially liberal and fiscally conservative . Historically,
3750-592: The early years of the caucus, the Blue Dogs were viewed by some as the political successors to Southern Democratic groups such as the Boll Weevils or conservative coalition . The Boll Weevils may, in turn, be considered the descendants of the Dixiecrats and the " states' rights " Democrats of the 1940s through the 1960s, and even the Bourbon Democrats of the late 19th century. In 2014, there
3825-424: The federal courts had the discretion to include busing as a desegregation tool to achieve racial balance. Some southern Democrats became Republicans at the national level, while remaining with their old party in state and local politics throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Several prominent conservative Democrats switched parties to become Republicans, including Strom Thurmond , John Connally and Mills E. Godwin Jr . In
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#17328017136703900-415: The governor races in Florida and Georgia in 2022 by wider margins than in 2018, though Senator Warnock won re-election in Georgia. Virginia is a notable exception to Republican dominance in the former 11 Confederate states , due to Northern Virginia being part of the Washington metropolitan area , with both major parties continuing to be competitive in the State in the 21st century. Dr. Ralph Northam ,
3975-424: The grouping adhered to social conservatism . Although its members have evolved on social issues over time, the group has never taken a position on social issues as a caucus. Scholars and journalists positioned the group as centrist to centre-left , and historically centre-right . The Blue Dog Coalition is the most conservative grouping of Democrats in the House. It "advocates for fiscal responsibility,
4050-402: The late 2010s and early 2020s, the Coalition's focus shifted towards ideological centrism and pragmatic, constituency-based politics; however, the Coalition maintained an emphasis on fiscal responsibility. The Blue Dog Coalition remains the most conservative grouping of Democrats in the House. As of 2024, the caucus has eleven members. The Blue Dog Coalition was formed in 1995 during
4125-487: The left. It is related to the political term " Yellow Dog Democrat ", a reference to Southern Democrats said to be "so loyal they would even vote for a yellow dog before they would vote for any Republican". The term also refers to the "Blue Dog" paintings of Cajun artist George Rodrigue of Lafayette, Louisiana as the original members of the coalition would regularly meet in the offices of Louisiana representatives Billy Tauzin and Jimmy Hayes , both of whom later joined
4200-412: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blue_Dog&oldid=1183150069 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Blue Dog Coalition The Blue Dog Coalition , commonly known as
4275-412: The most part since. Many of the Representatives, Senators, and voters who were referred to as Reagan Democrats in the 1980s were conservative Southern Democrats. They often had more conservative views than other Democrats. But there were notable remnants of the Solid South into the early 21st century. In 1992 , Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton was elected president. Unlike Carter, however, Clinton
4350-440: The nation, and with the lives of most Americans disrupted, the assisting of African-Americans in American society was seen as necessary by the new government. During the 1930s, as the New Deal began to move Democrats as a whole to the left in economic policy, Southern Democrats were mostly supportive, although by the late 1930s there was a growing conservative faction . Both factions supported Roosevelt's foreign policies. By 1948
4425-424: The national government. Foreign policy was a major issue. After being the dominant party in U.S. politics from 1801 to 1829, the Democratic-Republicans split into two factions by 1828: the federalist National Republicans (who became the Whigs ), and the Democrats. The Democrats and Whigs were evenly balanced in the 1830s and 1840s. However, by the 1850s, the Whigs disintegrated. Other opposition parties emerged but
4500-406: The national level, the Republican Party moved sharply to the New Right , with the shrinkage of the "Eastern Establishment" Rockefeller Republican element that had emphasized their support for civil rights. Economic and cultural conservatism (especially regarding abortion and LGBT rights ) became more important in the South, with its large religious right element, such as Southern Baptists in
4575-548: The only senator from a state in rebellion to reject secession. The Border States or Border South of Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri of the Upper South were torn by political turmoil. Kentucky and Missouri were both governed by pro-secessionist Southern Democratic Governors who vehemently rejected Lincoln's call for 75,000 troops . Kentucky and Missouri both held secession conventions, but neither officially declared secession, leading to split Unionist and Confederate state governments in both states. Southern Democrats in Maryland faced
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#17328017136704650-490: The party-dues boycott was contained in remarks made by Rep. Lynn Woolsey of California , encouraging leaders of anti-war groups to field primary challenges to any Democrat who did not vote to end the war in Iraq . Woolsey later stated that she was misunderstood, but the Blue Dogs continued the boycott. Donations to party congressional committees are an important source of funding for the party committees, permitting millions of dollars to be funneled back into close races. In
4725-502: The passage of this Act, however, their willingness to support Republicans on a national level increased demonstrably. In 1964, Republican presidential nominee Goldwater , who had voted against the Civil Rights Act, won many of the "Solid South" states over Democratic presidential nominee Lyndon B. Johnson , himself a Texan , and with many this Republican support continued and seeped down the ballot to congressional, state, and ultimately local levels. A further significant item of legislation
4800-438: The protection of segregation led Democrats in the Deep South to reject Truman and run a third party ticket of Dixiecrats in the 1948 United States presidential election . After 1964, Southern Democrats lost major battles during the Civil Rights Movement . Federal laws ended segregation and restrictions on black voters. During the Civil Rights Movement, Democrats in the South initially still voted loyally with their party. After
4875-487: The rest of the nation. In the presidential elections of 1952 and 1956 Republican nominee Dwight D. Eisenhower , a popular World War II general , won several Southern states, thus breaking some White Southerners away from their Democratic Party pattern. The senior position of Southern Congressmen and Senators, and the discipline of many groups such as the Southern Caucus meant that Civil Rights initiatives tended to be blunted despite popular support. The passage of
4950-485: The signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 , the old argument that all Whites had to stick together to prevent civil rights legislation lost its force because the legislation had now been passed. More and more Whites began to vote Republican, especially in the suburbs and growing cities. Newcomers from the North were mostly Republican; they were now joined by conservatives and wealthy Southern Whites, while liberal Whites and poor Whites, especially in rural areas, remained with
5025-411: The start of the 118th Congress in January 2023, six of the 15 members of the Coalition departed following a failed attempt to rename the group to the "Common Sense Coalition". Freshman representative Don Davis , who was expected to join the Blue Dogs, also chose not to do so. After this split, the group reorganized and began an effort to stabilize, rebuild, and maintain influence on policy proposals in
5100-417: The summer of 2009, The Economist said the following regarding the Blue Dog Coalition: "The debate over health care ... may be the pinnacle of the group's power so far." The Economist quoted Charlie Stenholm, a founding Blue Dog, as stating that "This is the first year for the new kennel in which their votes are really going to make a difference". In July 2009, Blue Dog members who were committee members of
5175-526: The twenty-first century, the caucus began shifting its ideology and began adopting more socially liberal stances in order to align more closely with mainstream Democratic Party political values. In 2007, 15 Blue Dogs in safe seats rebelled, and refused to contribute party dues to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee . An additional 16 Blue Dogs did not pay any money to the DCCC, but were exempt from party-mandated contributions because they were top GOP targets for defeat in 2008. One reason for
5250-472: The two houses. They exerted great weight in the two Democratic caucuses and headed almost all of the important congressional committees.” From 1896 to 1912 and 1921 to 1931, the Democrats were relegated to second place status in national politics and didn't control a single branch of the federal government despite universal dominance in most of the " Solid South ." In 1928 several Southern states dallied with voting Republican in supporting Herbert Hoover over
5325-494: Was elected governor of Kentucky and won re-election in 2023 . As of February 2024, Democrats control the governorships of Kentucky, North Carolina, Maryland, and Delaware and the state legislatures of Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia. Since 2017, most U.S. House or state legislative seats held by Democrats in the South are majority-minority or urban districts. Due to growing urbanization and changing demographics in many Southern states, more liberal Democrats have found success in
5400-405: Was elected to the U.S. Senate from Arizona. The caucus also added 11 new members who defeated Republican incumbents in the 2018 election in districts that had voted for Donald Trump in 2016. The Democratic Party lost seats in the 2020 and 2022 House of Representatives elections, including the Blue Dog Coalition. As of April 2024, during the 118th Congress , the Coalition had 10 members. At
5475-402: Was no mention of social issues in the official Blue Dog materials. By January 2019, McClatchy reported a transformation of the Blue Dogs from a coalition of 'southern white men' to 'a multi-regional, multicultural group.' At that time, the coalition included two African-American members, one Vietnamese-American, one Mexican-American, and only five members from Southern states. As of April 2024,
5550-528: Was only able to win the southern states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia. While running for president, Clinton promised to "end welfare as we have come to know it" while in office. In 1996, Clinton would fulfill his campaign promise and the longtime Republican goal of major welfare reform came into fruition. After two welfare reform bills sponsored by the Republican-controlled Congress were successfully vetoed by
5625-659: Was the Voting Rights Act of 1965 , which targeted for preclearance by the U.S. Department of Justice any election-law change in areas where African-American voting participation was lower than the norm (most but not all of these areas were in the South); the effect of the Voting Rights Act on southern elections was profound, including the by-product that some White Southerners perceived it as meddling while Black voters universally appreciated it. Nixon aide Kevin Phillips told The New York Times in 1970 that "Negrophobe" Whites would quit
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