Oklahoma Democratic Party

Oklahoma Democratic Party
Oklahoma Democratic Party
Chairwoman	Alicia Andrews
Senate leader	Julia Kirt
House leader	Cyndi Munson
Interim 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
Membership (2025)	658,136
Ideology	Modern liberalism Factions: Bluedog Democrats Centrism Progressivism
National affiliation	Democratic Party
Unofficial colors	Blue
Statewide Executive Offices	0 / 12
Seats in the United States Senate	0 / 2
Seats in the United States House of Representatives	0 / 5
Seats in Oklahoma Senate	8 / 48
Seats in Oklahoma House of Representatives	20 / 101
Tribal Chiefs	2 / 5
Election symbol
Website
	www.okdemocrats.org
	Politics of Oklahoma; Elections;

The Oklahoma Democratic Party (ODP) is an Oklahoma political party affiliated with the Democratic Party. It and the Oklahoma 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 the presidential election of 1932 and the Franklin 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 of Governor of Oklahoma, 22 have been Democrats.^[4]

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.^[5] Even so, ODP continued to decline in the 2000s, losing control of both the Oklahoma House of Representatives and Senate. In the 2008 Presidential Election, Oklahoma gave one of the lowest percentage of any state's vote to Barack Obama, second only to Wyoming.^[6] Since 2004, Republicans have won every county in Presidential Elections in Oklahoma.^[7]

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.^[8]

History

Statehood and the 20th Century

The Oklahoma Democratic Party once dominated state politics for much of Oklahoma history from with its strength in greatest concentrations in Oklahoma's 5th congressional district and the southeastern part of the state.^[5]

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.^[9] With the onset of the Great 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.^[10]

After the federal Voting Rights Act and congressional reapportionment in Oklahoma in the 1960s, black state lawmakers returned to the Oklahoma Legislature, this time many aligning with the Democratic Party and hailing from Tulsa or Oklahoma City.^[11]

Since the 1980s the party has seen a decline as Christian fundamentalists have shifted to the Republican Party. The Democratic Party has not attained more than 41 percent of the vote for president.

21st Century

As of 2000 about 55 percent of Oklahoma voters registered as Democrats.^[5] The party continued to decline in strength in both the Oklahoma 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.^[12] Furthermore, Kendra Horn managed to defeat Republican Steve Russell in 2018, becoming the first Democratic Representative from Oklahoma since 2010.^[13]

In the 2020 Oklahoma elections, Democrat Mauree Turner became the first Muslim Oklahoma state legislator and the first publicly non-binary U.S. state legislator in the United States.^[14]

In the 2022 Gubernatorial Election, ODP ran Joy Hofmeister the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Hofmeister, a former Republican, defeated Constance Johnson a State Senator associated with the Democratic Socialists of America, in the Democratic primary.^[15] In the general election against incumbent Republican Governor Kevin Stitt, education and pandemic-related issues dominated the closer than expected race,^[16] however, Stitt won re-election with 55.4% of the vote against Hofmeister's 41.8%.^[17]

In the 2024 Tulsa Mayoral election, Monroe Nichols made history as Tulsa's first African-American mayor and its first Democratic mayor since 2006

Electoral history

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	Charles N. Haskell	38 / 48	4
1910	75 / 101	13	Lee Cruce	35 / 48	3
1912	82 / 101	7	Lee Cruce	38 / 48	3
1914	83 / 101	1	Robert L. Williams	42 / 48	4
1916	75 / 101	6	Robert L. Williams	43 / 48	1
1918	71 / 101	4	James B.A. Robertson	38 / 48	6
1920	28 / 101	43	James B.A. Robertson	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	Henry S. Johnston	38 / 48	1
1930	91 / 101	37	William H. Murray	36 / 48	2
1932	97 / 101	6	William H. Murray	43 / 48	7
1934	94 / 101	3	E.W. Marland	47 / 48	4
1936	98 / 101	4	E.W. Marland	48 / 48	1
1938	88 / 101	10	Leon C. Phillips	47 / 48	1
1940	94 / 101	6	Leon C. Phillips	46 / 48	1
1942	77 / 101	17	Robert S. Kerr	44 / 48	2
1944	79 / 101	2	Robert S. Kerr	42 / 48	2
1946	79 / 101	0	Roy J. Turner	42 / 48	0
1948	89 / 101	10	Roy J. Turner	43 / 48	1
1950	81 / 101	8	Johnston Murray	44 / 48	1
1952	88 / 101	7	Johnston Murray	42 / 48	2
1954	82 / 101	6	Raymond D. Gary	43 / 48	1
1956	81 / 101	1	Raymond D. Gary	45 / 48	2
1958	91 / 101	10	J. Howard Edmondson	45 / 48	0
1960	88 / 101	3	J. Howard Edmondson	44 / 48	1
1962	77 / 101	11	Henry Bellmon	42 / 48	2
1964	79 / 101	2	Henry Bellmon	41 / 48	1
1966	78 / 101	1	Dewey F. Bartlett	39 / 48	2
1968	79 / 101	1	Dewey F. Bartlett	38 / 48	1
1970	79 / 101	0	David Hall	39 / 48	1
1972	78 / 101	1	David Hall	38 / 48	1
1974	78 / 101	0	David L. Boren	38 / 48	0
1976	81 / 101	3	David L. Boren	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	Henry Bellmon	34 / 48	3
1990	67 / 101	2	David Walters	36 / 48	2
1992	67 / 101	0	David Walters	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 Governor Jari Askins provided tie breaking vote in the State Senate following the 2006 elections, giving Democrats a majority

Current structure and composition

The Oklahoma Democratic Party headquarters is located North Santa Fe Avenue in Oklahoma City.^[18] They host the biennial state conventions in June of odd-numbered years, in which they elect executive officers and delegates to the Democratic National Committee. The Democratic National Committee is responsible for promoting Democratic campaign activities, overseeing the process of writing the national Democratic Platform, and supervising the Democratic National Convention. Delegates serve four-year terms concurrent with presidential elections.

Alicia Andrews, the first African American and African American Woman chair was re-elected for a third term in June, 2023. Former state Representative of House District 34, Cory Williams was elected vice chair.^[19] Former Governor David Walters and Kalyn Free are delegates for the Democratic National Committee.^[19]

The state party coordinates campaign activities with Democratic candidates and county parties, and officers who correspond with the state's five Congressional districts. In 2005, the Democratic National Committee began a program called the "50 State Strategy" of using national funds to assist all state parties and pay for full-time professional staffers.^[20]

The Young Democrats of Oklahoma is the official age 13-35 division of the Oklahoma Democratic Party.^[21]

Officers and Staff

Officers:

Chair, Alicia Andrews^[22]
Vice Chair, Cory Williams^[22]
Secretary, Charles Peaden^[22]
Treasurer, Rachael Hunsucker^[22]

Staff:

Interim Executive Director, Lauren Craig^[23]
Voter File Manager, Josh Miles^[23]
Field Director, Krislyn Sherer^[23]
Finance Director, Charles Outlaw^[23]
Communications Director, Naomi Andrews^[23]

Ideology & Issues

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.^[24]

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]^[25]

The Oklahoma Democratic Party is a big-tent party composed of conservative, centrist and liberal factions. Less than a third of registered Democratic voters in Oklahoma supported President Barack Obama in 2012, due to the larger amount of conservative and centrist members of the ODP vis other state parties..^[26] In recent years the party has adopted a more liberal position on social and economic issues. At the 2023 State Convention, the platform endorsed a more progressive tax code to pay for public services and endorsed positions on abortion and transgender healthcare in line with the national party.^[25]

Church & State Issues

a

Crime

Drugs

Firearms

Policing

Economics

Unions

a

Human Rights

Elections and Referendum

ODP's 2023 platform advocates for the abolition of Oklahoma's closed primary system and its replacement with, "an open primary that advances the top four finishers to a ranked-choice voting general election."^[25] 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.^[27]

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.^[25]

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%."^[28] 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.

LGBT Rights

ODP's LGBT wing is the Oklahoma Federation of Stonewall Democrats.^[29]

The Oklahoma Democratic Party held a state convention on May 14, 2011, in which they discussed a number of platform positions.^[30] Participants discussed support for public health programs, government-funded embryonic stem cell research, the legalization of medical marijuana, education funding, and opposition to voucher programs that divert tax dollars to private institutions.^[30] They also discussed the state party's support of teacher's rights to unionize and policies to protect homeowners from unfair foreclosures.^[30] Other party platform positions included support for the elimination of predatory lending practices, support for limitations on credit card interest rates, support for the elimination of the state sales tax on food, support for increasing taxes on the wealthiest citizens of Oklahoma, and support for reforms to the state criminal justice system.^[30] The party's position on gun laws was moderate, stating support for limited, but responsible gun laws.^[30] The party also supports continued investments in green energies.^[30]

Current elected officials

Democrats have not won the Oklahoma House of Representatives since 2002 nor the Oklahoma 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 Instruction Joy 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 Republican Ryan Walters. At least 2 of the current chiefs of the 5 Tribes are Democrats: Chuck Hoskin Jr. (Cherokee Nation), and Bill Anoatubby (Chickasaw Nation). Oklahoma’s congressional delegation has been entirely Republican since 2021 and previously from 2013 to 2019.

State Legislative leadership

City officials

Tulsa Mayor: Monroe Nichols
Norman Mayor: Stephen Tyler Holman

Democratic Governors

As of 2022^[update], there have been a total of 22 Democratic Party Governors.

#	Name	Lifespan	Gubernatorial start date	Gubernatorial end date
1	Charles N. Haskell	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	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	1908–1993	January 10, 1955	January 12, 1959
16	J. Howard Edmondson	1925–1971	January 12, 1959	January 6, 1963
17	George Nigh	1927–	January 6, 1963	January 14, 1963
20	David Hall	1930–2016	January 11, 1971	January 13, 1975
21	David Boren	1941–	January 13, 1975	January 8, 1979
22	George Nigh	1927–	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