North Carolina Democratic Party
|
North Carolina Democratic Party
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Chairperson | Patsy Keever |
| Senate leader | Dan Blue |
| House leader | Darren Jackson |
| Founded | 1828 |
| Headquarters | 220 Hillsborough St. Raleigh, NC 27603 |
| Ideology |
Liberalism Progressivism Social liberalism |
| Political position | Center-left |
| National affiliation | Democratic Party |
| Colors | Blue |
| Seats in the Upper House |
15 / 50
|
| Seats in the Lower House |
46 / 120
|
| Website | |
| www |
|
The North Carolina Democratic Party (NCDP) is the North Carolina affiliate of the national Democratic Party in the United States. It is headquartered in the historic Goodwin house, which is located in the downtown area of Raleigh at 220 Hillsborough Street.
The second party system emerged from a divide in the Democratic-Republican party in 1828. They split off into two groups, the Democrats, led by Andrew Jackson, and the Whigs. In North Carolina, people from the west and northeast supported the Whigs mainly because they wanted education and internal improvements to help with the economy. Meanwhile, Eastern North Carolina was dominated by wealthy planters who tended to oppose activist government. Over time, the Democrats slowly came to support many of the Whig policies on internal improvements. For the first time in history voters were splitting off into one of the two parties. In the 1850s the Whigs were split by the issue of slavery. Former Confederates and Whigs eventually formed the Conservative Party and opposed the reconstruction policies enacted by the U.S. Congress following the Civil War. By 1870, the two main parties were the Conservatives (who changed their name to "Democratic-Conservatives" and then to Democrats by 1876), and the Republicans (GOP).
Before the 1960s many of the white leaders of the NCDP, as was the case with most state parties in the then one-party South, supported racial segregation. But beginning with the Republicans' 1964 Presidential campaign and Richard Nixon's "Southern Strategy" in 1968, many with such views - such as TV commentator Jesse Helms, who went on to serve several terms in the U.S. Senate - flocked to the Republican party. Since then, the majority of minority voters have joined moderate and progressive white voters to make NCDP values consistent with those of the national Democratic party. Jimmy Carter carried North Carolina in the Presidential campaign of 1976, but from 1980-2004 the Republican nominee for the presidency won the state.
...
Wikipedia