South Dakota Democratic Party
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South Dakota Democratic Party
|
|
|---|---|
| Chairperson | Ann Tornberg |
| Headquarters | Sioux Falls, SD |
| Ideology |
Liberalism Progressivism Social liberalism |
| National affiliation | Democratic Party |
| Colors | Blue |
| Seats in the Upper House |
6 / 35
|
| Seats in the Lower House |
10 / 70
|
| Website | |
| www.sddp.org | |
The South Dakota Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in South Dakota.
South Dakota, since its inception in 1889, has been a red state through and through despite substantial changes to political party platforms. Truth be told, the history of the state's Democratic Party can be condensed into two separate decades, each marked by a very different national atmosphere and legislative approach to past agrarian failures.
1914 was a milestone for the Democrats when they won South Dakota's first senate election by popular vote with their first statewide elected official, Edwin S. Johnson. This was their first success since William Jennings Bryan successfully campaigned (a novelty at the time) for the state's electoral votes in 1896 with help from an agrarian crisis. Though it wasn't until the sweeping elections of 1932 that they firmly take control as the party of the New Deal. In those 4 years, with supermajorities and the governorship, they were able to set about securing newly available federal aid, replacing property tax with income and sales taxes, and instituting unemployment insurance.
While Democrats managed only one solid two-year election cycle in the 40s and 50s, a young 2-term House member and Kennedy administration veteran with a strong understanding of agricultural policy changed their fortunes when he squeaked out a win against incumbent Joe Foss in 1962's Senate election. Vietnam War opponent George McGovern's popularity and profile was on an upward trajectory that would only be shadowed by his his presidential run in 1972. Even then, he continued to serve in the U.S. Senate for 9 more years as his party came to power at the state level.
Forty years after the New Dealers had brokered a tenuous, short-lived agreement with the farmers and workers of South Dakota and ninety years after The Boy Orator of the Platte wooed voters on his "Whirlwind through the Midwest", the Democrats were back. This time, they rode two decades of failed farm politics and favorite son McGovern's election bid to a slim 1 seat majority in the Senate, even slimmer tie breaking control in the House and a re-election win by Governor Richard F. Kneip. An electronic voterbase and superior get-out-the-vote operation helped many overcome long-time Republican incumbents who'd become lethargic campaigners.
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Wikipedia