Oklahoma Democratic Party | |
|---|---|
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| Chairman | John Waldron |
| Senate leader | Julia Kirt |
| House leader | Cyndi Munson |
| Executive Director | Lauren Craig |
| Founded | 1907 |
| Headquarters | 3815 N Santa Fe Ave., Suite 122 Oklahoma City,Oklahoma 73118 |
| Youth wing | Young Democrats of Oklahoma |
| Women's wing | Oklahoma Federation of Democratic Women[1] |
| Membership(2025) |  658,136[2] |
| National affiliation | Democratic Party |
| Unofficial colors | Blue |
| Statewide Executive Offices | 0 / 12 |
| Seats in theUnited States Senate | 0 / 2 |
| Seats in theUnited States House of Representatives | 0 / 5 |
| Seats inOklahoma Senate | 8 / 48 |
| Seats inOklahoma House of Representatives | 20 / 101 |
| Tribal Chiefs | 3 / 5 |
| Election symbol | |
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| Website | |
| www | |
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Executive
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Legislature
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Congressional delegation
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TheOklahoma Democratic Party (ODP) is anOklahomapolitical party affiliated with theDemocratic Party. It and theOklahoma Republican Party, are the state's two major parties.
The party dominated local politics in Oklahoma almost since the days of early statehood in 1907 to 1994. In national politics, the party became a dominant force beginning with thepresidential election of 1932 and theFranklin D. Roosevelt political re-alignment. From 1932 to 1994, the majority of members of Congress from Oklahoma have been Democrats, and of the 28 men and women who have been elected to the office ofGovernor of Oklahoma, 22 have been Democrats.[3]
However, the party has fared poorly since 1994;Democrats lost five out of six congressional races that year. Since then,they have won only a handful of seats, which they no longer hold. In response, the traditionally disorganized Oklahoma Democrats moved to create a more organized state party, hiring a professional executive director in 1995.[4] Even so, ODP continued to decline in the 2000s, losing control of both theOklahoma House of Representatives andSenate. In the 2008 Presidential Election, Oklahoma gave one of the lowest percentage of any state's vote toBarack Obama, second onlyto Wyoming.[5] Since2004, Republicans have won every county inPresidential Elections in Oklahoma.[6]
As of January 21, 2025, there are 658,136 registered Democratic voters in Oklahoma. This marks an increase in absolute terms from 652,611 in 2024, but a relative decrease from 28.4% to 26.6% of registered voters.[7]
The Oklahoma Democratic Party once dominated state politics for much of Oklahoma history from with its strength in greatest concentrations inOklahoma's 5th congressional district and the southeastern part of the state.[4]
Upon statehood, all but one of the Congressional seats was held by Democrats. The Democrats won eighteen of the twenty-one gubernatorial elections since its statehood in 1907. The Democratic Party held on average 81 percent of the seats in the state legislature between 1907 and 1973.[8] With the onset of theGreat Depression, the party gained even more influence for several decades
Democratic opposition to deficit spending in the late 1930s marked a growing conservative movement in the party, which led to a 1941 constitutional amendment requiring legislators to pass a balanced budget.[9]
After the federal Voting Rights Act and congressional reapportionment in Oklahoma in the 1960s, black state lawmakers returned to theOklahoma Legislature, this time many aligning with theDemocratic Party and hailing fromTulsa orOklahoma City.[10]
Since the 1980s the party has seen a decline asChristian fundamentalists have shifted to theRepublican Party. The Democratic Party has not attained more than 41 percent of the vote for president.
As of 2000 about 55 percent of Oklahoma voters registered as Democrats.[4] The party continued to decline in strength in both theOklahoma Legislature and executive branch during the 2000 and 2010s. In 2011, Republicans held all statewide-elected offices, a first for the party. However, this downward trend was halted in the late 2010s, with Oklahoma Democrats stabilizing at approximately 20 seats in the State House and 8 seats in the State Senate.[11] Furthermore,Kendra Horn managed to defeat RepublicanSteve Russell in2018, becoming the first Democratic Representative from Oklahoma since 2010.[12]
In the2020 Oklahoma elections, DemocratMauree Turner became the firstMuslimOklahoma state legislator and the first publiclynon-binaryU.S. state legislator in theUnited States.[13]
In the 2022 Gubernatorial Election, ODP ran Joy Hofmeister the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Hofmeister, a former Republican, defeatedConstance Johnson a State Senator associated with theDemocratic Socialists of America, in the Democratic primary.[14] In the general election against incumbent Republican GovernorKevin Stitt, education and pandemic-related issues dominated the closer than expected race,[15] however, Stitt won re-election with 55.4% of the vote against Hofmeister's 41.8%.[16]
In the2024 Tulsa Mayoral election,Monroe Nichols made history asTulsa's first African-American mayor and its first Democratic mayor since 2006
| Election year | No. of House seats | +/– | Governorship | No. of Senate seats | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1907 | 85 / 101 |  16 | Charles N. Haskell | 42 / 48 | 6 |
| 1908 | 62 / 101 | 23 | 38 / 48 | 4 | |
| 1910 | 75 / 101 | 13 | Lee Cruce | 35 / 48 | 3 |
| 1912 | 82 / 101 | 7 | 38 / 48 | 3 | |
| 1914 | 83 / 101 | 1 | Robert L. Williams | 42 / 48 | 4 |
| 1916 | 75 / 101 | 6 | 43 / 48 | 1 | |
| 1918 | 71 / 101 | 4 | James B.A. Robertson | 38 / 48 | 6 |
| 1920 | 28 / 101 | 43 | 31 / 48 | 7 | |
| 1922 | 87 / 101 | 59 | Jack C. Walton | 36 / 48 | 5 |
| 1924 | 77 / 101 | 10 | Martin Trapp | 42 / 48 | 6 |
| 1926 | 79 / 101 | 2 | Henry S. Johnston | 39 / 48 | 3 |
| 1928 | 54 / 101 | 25 | 38 / 48 | 1 | |
| 1930 | 91 / 101 | 37 | William H. Murray | 36 / 48 | 2 |
| 1932 | 97 / 101 | 6 | 43 / 48 | 7 | |
| 1934 | 94 / 101 | 3 | E.W. Marland | 47 / 48 | 4 |
| 1936 | 98 / 101 | 4 | 48 / 48 | 1 | |
| 1938 | 88 / 101 | 10 | Leon C. Phillips | 47 / 48 | 1 |
| 1940 | 94 / 101 | 6 | 46 / 48 | 1 | |
| 1942 | 77 / 101 | 17 | Robert S. Kerr | 44 / 48 | 2 |
| 1944 | 79 / 101 | 2 | 42 / 48 | 2 | |
| 1946 | 79 / 101 |  0 | Roy J. Turner | 42 / 48 | 0 |
| 1948 | 89 / 101 | 10 | 43 / 48 | 1 | |
| 1950 | 81 / 101 | 8 | Johnston Murray | 44 / 48 | 1 |
| 1952 | 88 / 101 | 7 | 42 / 48 | 2 | |
| 1954 | 82 / 101 | 6 | Raymond D. Gary | 43 / 48 | 1 |
| 1956 | 81 / 101 | 1 | 45 / 48 | 2 | |
| 1958 | 91 / 101 | 10 | J. Howard Edmondson | 45 / 48 | 0 |
| 1960 | 88 / 101 | 3 | 44 / 48 | 1 | |
| 1962 | 77 / 101 | 11 | Henry Bellmon | 42 / 48 | 2 |
| 1964 | 79 / 101 | 2 | 41 / 48 | 1 | |
| 1966 | 78 / 101 | 1 | Dewey F. Bartlett | 39 / 48 | 2 |
| 1968 | 79 / 101 | 1 | 38 / 48 | 1 | |
| 1970 | 79 / 101 | 0 | David Hall | 39 / 48 | 1 |
| 1972 | 78 / 101 | 1 | 38 / 48 | 1 | |
| 1974 | 78 / 101 | 0 | David L. Boren | 38 / 48 | 0 |
| 1976 | 81 / 101 | 3 | 38 / 48 | 0 | |
| 1978 | 77 / 101 | 4 | George Nigh | 37 / 48 | 1 |
| 1980 | 75 / 101 | 2 | 36 / 48 | 1 | |
| 1982 | 75 / 101 | 0 | 34 / 48 | 2 | |
| 1984 | 69 / 101 | 6 | 34 / 48 | 0 | |
| 1986 | 70 / 101 | 1 | Henry Bellmon | 31 / 48 | 3 |
| 1988 | 69 / 101 | 1 | 34 / 48 | 3 | |
| 1990 | 67 / 101 | 2 | David Walters | 36 / 48 | 2 |
| 1992 | 67 / 101 | 0 | 35 / 48 | 1 | |
| 1994 | 60 / 101 | 7 | Frank Keating | 31 / 48 | 4 |
| 1996 | 59 / 101 | 1 | 29 / 48 | 2 | |
| 1998 | 59 / 101 | 0 | 29 / 48 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 53 / 101 | 6 | 27 / 48 | 2 | |
| 2002 | 54 / 101 | 1 | Brad Henry | 26 / 48 | 1 |
| 2004 | 55 / 101 | 1 | 26 / 48 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 44 / 101 | 11 | 24 / 48 | 2 | |
| 2008 | 40 / 101 | 4 | 22 / 48 | 2 | |
| 2010 | 31 / 101 | 9 | Mary Fallin | 16 / 48 | 6 |
| 2012 | 29 / 101 | 2 | 12 / 48 | 4 | |
| 2014 | 29 / 101 | 0 | 8 / 48 | 4 | |
| 2016 | 26 / 101 | 3 | 8 / 48 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 25 / 101 | 1 | Kevin Stitt | 9 / 48 | 1 |
| 2020 | 19 / 101 | 5 | 9 / 48 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 20 / 101 | 1 | 8 / 48 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 20 / 101 | | 8 / 48 | |
Note:Lieutenant GovernorJari Askins provided tie breaking vote in the State Senate following the 2006 elections, giving Democrats a majority
ODP hosts a statewide convention in June of odd-numbered years, where delegates representing the county parties elect executive officers. The State Convention is the highest governing body and possesses the exclusive right to amend the Party Constitution.[17] Additionally, the State Convention elects Oklahoma's delegates to theDemocratic National Committee, which is responsible for promoting Democratic campaign activities, overseeing the process of writing the national Democratic Platform, and supervising theDemocratic National Convention. Delegates serve four-year terms concurrent with presidential elections.[18]
The Chair is the highest ranking member of the ODP. The current ODP Chair isJohn Waldron.[19] Former Governor David Walters and Kalyn Free are delegates for the Democratic National Committee.[19]
Between conventions, the State Central Committee functions as the senior most decision making body in ODP and wields the same powers as the State Convention, "except for those matters exclusively vested in the State Convention [i.e. Amendment power] by this Constitution and supporting Bylaws." (Article VII, Section 7)[18]
The State Central Committee is composed of the State Party Officers, the chair, vice-chair, and secretary of each Congressional District Convention, four affirmative action offices to represent historically marginalized groups, two members of the County Chairs Association, the president of each recognized federation of a State Democratic club. The following persons are members of the State Central Committee:[20]
Source:[21]
ODP staff are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the party and mostly operate at ODP office located at 3815 North Santa Fe Avenue,Oklahoma City.[22]The following persons are on the ODP staff:
ODP staffwork is assisted by interns and volunteers.
The Oklahoma Democratic Party (ODP) does not explicitly identify itself with any ideology. The Preamble of the Party Constitution reads:
We, the Democrats of the State of Oklahoma, united under the banner of the oldest political party in the world, hereby rededicate ourselves to the principles which have historically sustained our Party. While recognizing the limits of government, we regard democratic government as a force for good and a source of hope. We seek individual freedom in the framework of a just society. We pledge ourselves to uphold the United States Constitution and to work openly and honestly in our efforts to conduct public affairs in a manner worthy of a society of free and responsible citizens.[17]
The 2024 State Party Platform restates this big-tent approach saying ODP, "is preprepared to work collaboratively with our fellow Oklahomans, regardless of political party, to invest in and enrich our communities throughout the state.Together, we will meet the challenges and opportunities before us with wisdom, determination, and compassion." [Emphasis in original][18]
Historically, ODP was composed of conservative,centrist and liberal factions. Less than a third of registered Democratic voters in Oklahoma supported PresidentBarack Obama in 2012, due to the larger amount of conservative andcentrist members of the ODPvis other state parties.[24] In recent years the party has adopted more liberal positions on social and economic issues. At the 2023 State Convention, the platform endorsed a moreprogressive tax code to pay for public services and endorsed positions onabortion andtransgender healthcare in line with the national party.[18]
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Republicans have loosened gun restrictions in Oklahoma, resulting in Oklahoma possessing one of the most permissive firearm regimes in the world. Examples of laws enacted include reciprocal recognition of concealed carry licenses from other states,[25] a law which was rendered moot by the passage of a constitutional amendment recognizing the right of adults over the age of 21 to openly carry loaded firearms without a permit, license, or background check.[26]
Oklahoma has one of the highest gun violence rates in the country, with 19.9 gun deaths per 100k residents, higher than the national average of 13.7 per 100k residents. Furthermore, Oklahoma has one oft the highest gun suicide rates in the country.[27]
ODP lawmakers broadly support the 2nd Amendment, but believe in what they describe as responsible gun regulations. Examples of laws proposed by Democratic state legislators include universal background checks, an extended waiting period for gun purchases, and raising the minimum age to purchase a firearm to 21.[28] Another Democratic proposal came from State Senator Jo Anna Dossett (D-Tulsa),which would exempt trigger locks, gun safes, and lock boxes from the state sales tax. Such a measure is aimed at reducing the number of firearms stolen or misused (i.e. youths stealing their parents firearm to commit suicide).[29]
The issue of police funding has been a major political issue in cities such asNorman and Oklahoma City. Though candidates for city council run as non-partisans, they are usually members of one of the major political parties. Among Oklahoma City Democrats there is a divide between those who supportreducing police funding to fundmental health services and those who are opposed. According to Campaign Zero, a police reform group, 63 people were killed between 2013 and 2023. Adjusted for population,OKCPD possesses the second rate of police killings in the United States.[30]
A similar fight over police funding dominated Norman politics in 2020. The city council, one of the few majority liberal in the state, voted to reduce a previously planned increase to theNPD from $1.1 million to $865,000, with the saved monies getting allocated to non-police responses to disturbances created by mental illness or homelessness. Despite the revised budget still amounting to an increase in police funding, opponents decried the revision as "defunding the police." Democratic councilors such as Kate Bierman, were faced with an organized campaign of harassment including verbal intimidation and a lawsuit from the police union.[31]
ODP accepts the existence of a capitalist economic system. In their 2023 Platform, they argue, "Democrats responsibly support business development and job creation...We cannot live in a prosperous state without both a vibrant business community and a skilled dedicated labor force."[18]
Within the context of a capitalist economy, ODP supports active state involvement. Their 2023 platform endorses a progressive tax code to fund expansions of public infrastructure, education, and healthcare. Furthermore, they support an "all of the above" energy policy, wherein wind, solar, and other renewables compliment oil & gas production.[18]
ODP supports the rights of labor unions,[18] however it presently lacks a dedicated federation/caucus in the state party, putting it at odds with most state Democratic Parties.
ODP's 2023 platform advocates for the abolition of Oklahoma'sclosed primary system and its replacement with, "an open primary that advances the top four finishers to a ranked-choice voting general election."[18] This is modelled off Alaska's primary election model. ODP has not taken a public position regarding State Question 836, a petition launched by Oklahoma United that would create a top-two primary, wherein every candidate is listed on one ballot and the top two advance to a general election.[32]
ODP supports defending voting rights and "expanding access to absentee or mail-in ballots." Furthermore, they oppose the use of voter roll purges for partisan or discriminatory ends and support abolishing straight-party voting.[18]
ODP opposes ongoing efforts by Republicans to impose restrictions on petitions. Senate Bill 1027, proposed by State Senator David Bullard (R-Durant), "would require that no more than 10% of signatures on an initiative petition come from a county where 400,000 or more people reside. That would affect only residents of Tulsa and Oklahoma counties by capping the total share of signatures from those two counties at 20%."[33] This measure would make it significantly harder for Democrats to use petitions to organize referendums as Oklahoma City and Tulsa are areas with a greater concentration of Democratic voters.
ODP's LGBT wing is theOklahoma Federation of Stonewall Democrats.[34]
ODP is supportive of LGBT rights, including same-sex marriage and transgender healthcare, both of which are targeted by the Oklahoma Republican Party.[35]
Democrats have not won theOklahoma House of Representatives since 2002 nor theOklahoma State Senate since 2006, when they last won any statewide election (with Democrats winning most statewide executive offices on the ballot that year). The last Democrat to hold statewide office in Oklahoma is Superintendent of Public InstructionJoy Hofmeister, who switched parties from Republican to Democrat in October 2021 and subsequently left office in January 2023, having been term limited and unsuccessfully ran for Governor of Oklahoma in 2022. She was succeeded by RepublicanRyan Walters. At least 3 of the current chiefs of the5 Tribes are Democrats:Chuck Hoskin Jr. (Cherokee Nation),Bill Anoatubby (Chickasaw Nation), and Sena Yesslith (Seminole Nation). Oklahoma’s congressional delegation has been entirely Republican since 2021 and previously from 2013 to 2019.
As of 2022[update], there have been a total of 22 Democratic Party Governors.
| # | Name | Picture | Lifespan | Gubernatorial start date | Gubernatorial end date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles N. Haskell | .jpg) | 1860–1933 | November 16, 1907 | January 9, 1911 |
| 2 | Lee Cruce |  | 1863–1933 | January 9, 1911 | January 11, 1915 |
| 3 | Robert L. Williams |  | 1868–1948 | January 11, 1915 | January 13, 1919 |
| 4 | James B. A. Robertson |  | 1871–1938 | January 13, 1919 | January 8, 1923 |
| 5 | Jack C. Walton |  | 1881–1949 | January 8, 1923 | November 19, 1923 |
| 6 | Martin E. Trapp |  | 1877–1951 | November 19, 1923 | January 10, 1927 |
| 7 | Henry S. Johnston |  | 1867–1965 | January 10, 1927 | March 20, 1929 |
| 8 | William J. Holloway |  | 1888–1970 | March 20, 1929 | January 12, 1931 |
| 9 | William H. Murray |  | 1869–1956 | January 12, 1931 | January 14, 1935 |
| 10 | E. W. Marland | .jpg) | 1874–1941 | January 15, 1935 | January 9, 1939 |
| 11 | Leon C. Phillips |  | 1890–1958 | January 9, 1939 | January 11, 1943 |
| 12 | Robert S. Kerr |  | 1896–1963 | January 11, 1943 | January 13, 1947 |
| 13 | Roy J. Turner |  | 1894–1973 | January 13, 1947 | January 8, 1951 |
| 14 | Johnston Murray |  | 1902–1974 | January 8, 1951 | January 10, 1955 |
| 15 | Raymond D. Gary | .jpg) | 1908–1993 | January 10, 1955 | January 12, 1959 |
| 16 | J. Howard Edmondson |  | 1925–1971 | January 12, 1959 | January 6, 1963 |
| 17 | George Nigh |  | 1927–2025 | January 6, 1963 | January 14, 1963 |
| 20 | David Hall | .jpg) | 1930–2016 | January 11, 1971 | January 13, 1975 |
| 21 | David Boren | .png) | 1941–2025 | January 13, 1975 | January 8, 1979 |
| 22 | George Nigh | .jpg) | 1927–2025 | January 8, 1979 | January 12, 1987 |
| 24 | David Walters |  | 1951– | January 14, 1991 | January 9, 1995 |
| 26 | Brad Henry |  | 1963– | January 13, 2003 | January 10, 2011 |
| International | |
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| Other | |
