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Idaho Democratic Party

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Idaho Democratic Party
ChairpersonLauren Necochea
Senate Minority LeaderMelissa Wintrow
House Minority LeaderIlana Rubel
Founded1860s
HeadquartersBoise, Idaho
Membership (2024)Decrease 125,989[1]
IdeologyModern liberalism
National affiliationDemocratic Party
Colors  Blue
Seats in the U.S. Senate
0 / 2
Seats in the United States House of Representatives
0 / 2
Seats in the Idaho Senate
7 / 35
Seats in the Idaho House of Representatives
11 / 70
Website
www.idahodems.org

The Idaho Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Idaho.

While the party has been in the minority for most of the state's history, it has produced several notable public figures, including former U.S. senator Frank Church and former governor and secretary of the interior Cecil Andrus. Trade union support has traditionally been a key component of Democratic success in Idaho.[2]

History

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Created in 1863 after the discovery of new mining territory, the early Idaho Territory was heavily populated by settlers from western Oregon, California and Nevada who supported a radical Republican agenda. However, towards the end of the war, Idaho became flooded with Confederate refugees from states like Missouri who voted, like the miners in Idaho, heavily Democratic. The state became a Democratic stronghold for the next two decades.[3]

At the dawn of statehood, despite ceding Idaho almost entirely four years earlier to the Populists and Republicans (Cleveland won only 2 popular votes in 1892), a fusion Populist/Democratic ticket behind William Jennings Bryan's candidacy won the state with 78.1% of the vote with the support from Silver Republicans. Nevertheless, the three– man congressional delegation remained two-part Populist, one-part Republican.

It was not until the turn of the century that Idaho saw its first Democratic representation in Congress, Senator Fred Dubois, U.S. Marshal of the Idaho Territory and a former Republican. He successfully campaigned on the disenfranchisement of Mormons on the grounds that they broke the law by practicing polygamy, already having barred them form holding office while he held office in the state legislature. Ironically, while his anti– Mormonism as a Republican kept Democrats out of office after 1882, his anti-Mormonism as a Democrat had the same result after 1902.[3]

Though Democrats and Jewish governor Moses Alexander were able to implement a radically progressive agenda with the backing of the Nonpartisan League while in control during Woodrow Wilson's presidency, they quickly ceded power and it was not until Franklin Delano Roosevelt's 1932 landslide that they began to turn out state and local (as well as national) Republican office holders for a sustained period of time.[3] That year, all three congressional Republicans up for re– election were defeated by Democratic challengers by at least 11 percent. All three challengers, like their state party, were stalwart supporters of FDR's New Deal. Despite a turn of opinion against the federal government's programs years later, Democrats retained two of their three newly attained seats for at least 15 years and managed to control the legislature for eight until the chambers evened themselves out during and immediately after the war.[3]

Decline

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In the post-war decades, as state politics was professionalized, Republicans dominated the state legislature and the governor's mansion, but Democrats maintained a steadfast presence across all other executive offices. A platform of environmental concerns gave Idaho its last Democratic governor to date even as it became more conservative in its congressional delegation and state legislature.[3] However, in the 1970s and 1980s, Democrats lost two key voting groups. After the national party adopted a host of liberal social issues like abortion rights and feminism, Idaho's Mormons left the party in droves. Meanwhile, unions lost influence in already declining mining and timber industries.[4]

Since 1994, when four-term Democratic governor Cecil Andrus retired and Representative Larry LaRocco was defeated, only one member of the party, Walt Minnick, has won either statewide office or election to Congress; after winning election to the latter capacity in 2008, Minnick was subsequently defeated for re-election by Republican Raúl Labrador two years later. Idaho Democrats currently seat only twelve members of the state House and six members of the state Senate, slightly worse than the ~20% they held in each chamber in 1996 when the party first collapsed.[4] Unlike with other Mountain West states, such as Nevada and Colorado, immigration has not shifted Idaho leftward. Rather, Californians and other West Coast residents who have moved there have done so largely for cultural instead of economic reasons.[5]

Elected officials

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Members of Congress

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  • None

Statewide offices

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  • None

Legislative leadership

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Municipal

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The following Democrats hold prominent mayoralties in Idaho:

Chairs

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Election results

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Presidential

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Idaho Democratic Party presidential election results
Election Presidential Ticket Votes Vote % Electoral votes Result
1892 State party endorsed James B. Weaver/James G. Field (Populist) N/A N/A
0 / 3
 Lost
1896 William Jennings Bryan/Arthur Sewall 23,135 78.10%
3 / 3
 Won
1900 William Jennings Bryan/Adlai E. Stevenson 29,414 50.79%
3 / 3
 Won
1904 Alton B. Parker/Henry G. Davis 18,480 25.46%
0 / 3
 Lost
1908 William Jennings Bryan/John W. Kern 36,162 37.17%
0 / 3
 Lost
1912 Woodrow Wilson/Thomas R. Marshall 33,921 32.08%
4 / 4
 Won
1916 Woodrow Wilson/Thomas R. Marshall 70,054 52.04%
4 / 4
 Won
1920 James M. Cox/Franklin D. Roosevelt 46,579 34.34%
0 / 4
 Lost
1924 John W. Davis/Charles W. Bryan 24,256 16.36%
0 / 4
 Lost
1928 Al Smith/Joseph T. Robinson 52,926 34.93%
0 / 4
 Lost
1932 Franklin D. Roosevelt/John N. Garner 109,479 58.66%
4 / 4
 Won
1936 Franklin D. Roosevelt/John N. Garner 125,683 62.96%
4 / 4
 Won
1940 Franklin D. Roosevelt/Henry A. Wallace 127,842 54.36%
4 / 4
 Won
1944 Franklin D. Roosevelt/Harry S. Truman 107,399 51.55%
4 / 4
 Won
1948 Harry S. Truman/Alben W. Barkley 107,370 49.98%
4 / 4
 Won
1952 Adlai Stevenson/John Sparkman 95,081 34.42%
0 / 4
 Lost
1956 Adlai Stevenson/Estes Kefauver 105,868 38.78%
0 / 4
 Lost
1960 John F. Kennedy/Lyndon B. Johnson 138,853 46.22%
0 / 4
 Lost
1964 Lyndon B. Johnson/Hubert Humphrey 148,920 50.92%
4 / 4
 Won
1968 Hubert Humphrey/Edmund Muskie 89,273 30.66%
0 / 4
 Lost
1972 George McGovern/Sargent Shriver 80,826 26.04%
0 / 4
 Lost
1976 Jimmy Carter/Walter Mondale 126,549 37.12%
0 / 4
 Lost
1980 Jimmy Carter/Walter Mondale 110,192 25.19%
0 / 4
 Lost
1984 Walter Mondale/Geraldine Ferraro 108,510 26.39%
0 / 4
 Lost
1988 Michael Dukakis/Lloyd Bentsen 147,272 36.01%
0 / 4
 Lost
1992 Bill Clinton/Al Gore 137,013 28.42%
0 / 4
 Lost
1996 Bill Clinton/Al Gore 165,443 33.65%
0 / 4
 Lost
2000 Al Gore/Joe Lieberman 138,637 27.64%
0 / 4
 Lost
2004 John Kerry/John Edwards 181,098 30.26%
0 / 4
 Lost
2008 Barack Obama/Joe Biden 236,440 35.91%
0 / 4
 Lost
2012 Barack Obama/Joe Biden 212,787 32.40%
0 / 4
 Lost
2016 Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine 189,765 27.48%
0 / 4
 Lost
2020 Joe Biden/Kamala Harris 287,021 33.07%
0 / 4
 Lost

Gubernatorial

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Idaho Democratic Party gubernatorial election results
Election Gubernatorial candidate Votes Vote % Result
1890 Benjamin Wilson 7,948 43.65% Lost Red XN
1892 John M. Burke 6,769 33.72% Lost Red XN
1894 Edward A. Stevenson 7,057 28.70% Lost Red XN
1896 Frank Steunenberg 22,096 76.79% Won Green tickY
1898 Frank Steunenberg 19,407 48.83% Won Green tickY
1900 Frank W. Hunt 28,628 50.87% Won Green tickY
1902 Frank W. Hunt 26,021 43.18% Lost Red XN
1904 Henry Heitfeld 24,252 34.02% Lost Red XN
1906 Charles Stockslager 29,496 40.09% Lost Red XN
1908 Moses Alexander 40,145 41.61% Lost Red XN
1910 James H. Hawley 40,856 47.42% Won Green tickY
1912 James H. Hawley 33,992 32.22% Lost Red XN
1914 Moses Alexander 47,618 44.13% Won Green tickY
1916 Moses Alexander 63,877 47.49% Won Green tickY
1918 H. F. Samuels 38,499 40.05% Lost Red XN
1920 Ted A. Walters 38,509 26.93% Lost Red XN
1922 Moses Alexander 36,810 28.79% Lost Red XN
1924 A. L. Freehafer 25,081 16.82% Lost Red XN
1926 Asher B. Wilson 24,837 20.59% Lost Red XN
1928 C. Ben Ross 63,046 41.58% Lost Red XN
1930 C. Ben Ross 73,896 56.03% Won Green tickY
1932 C. Ben Ross 116,663 61.73% Won Green tickY
1934 C. Ben Ross 93,313 54.58% Won Green tickY
1936 Barzilla W. Clark 115,098 57.19% Won Green tickY
1938 C. Ben Ross 77,697 41.89% Lost Red XN
1940 Chase A. Clark 120,420 50.48% Won Green tickY
1942 Chase A. Clark 71,826 49.85% Lost Red XN
1944 Charles C. Gossett 109,527 52.64% Won Green tickY
1946 Arnold Williams 79,131 43.63% Lost Red XN
1950 Calvin E. Wright 97,150 47.44% Lost Red XN
1954 Clark Hamilton 104,647 45.76% Lost Red XN
1958 Alfred M. Derr 117,236 49.04% Lost Red XN
1962 Vernon K. Smith 115,876 45.36% Lost Red XN
1966 Cecil Andrus 93,744 37.11% Lost Red XN
1970 Cecil Andrus 128,004 52.22% Won Green tickY
1974 Cecil Andrus 184,142 70.92% Won Green tickY
1978 John Evans 169,540 58.75% Won Green tickY
1982 John Evans 165,365 50.64% Won Green tickY
1986 Cecil Andrus 193,429 49.9% Won Green tickY
1990 Cecil Andrus 218,673 68.21% Won Green tickY
1994 Larry Echo Hawk 181,363 43.88% Lost Red XN
1998 Robert C. Huntley 110,815 29.07% Lost Red XN
2002 Jerry Brady 171,711 41.73% Lost Red XN
2006 Jerry Brady 198,845 44.11% Lost Red XN
2010 Keith G. Allred 148,680 32.85% Lost Red XN
2014 A.J. Balukoff 169,556 38.55% Lost Red XN
2018 Paulette Jordan 231,081 38.19% Lost Red XN
2022 Stephen Heidt 120,160 20.03% Lost Red XN

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Voter Registration Totals". Ballot Access News. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  2. ^ "Idaho unions: A history of conflict". Post Register. 2014-12-04. Retrieved 2017-09-08.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Idaho Political Periods" (PDF). Boise, Idaho: Idaho State Historical Society. 1976. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  4. ^ a b "How Idaho Became A One Party State". Boise, Idaho: Boise State Public Radio. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  5. ^ "How right-wing emigrants conquered North Idaho". Paonia, Colorado: High Country News. 20 May 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  6. ^ Tribune. "Fred Cornforth named the new chairman of Idaho Democratic Party". The Lewiston Tribune. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  7. ^ "IDP elects new Party Chair, Van Beechler". Idaho Democratic Party. 2019-03-21. Archived from the original on 2020-09-23. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
  8. ^ "Bert Marley: New IDP Chairman - Idaho Democratic Party". Idaho Democratic Party. 2015-08-01. Archived from the original on 2016-11-24. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  9. ^ "Larry Kenck, Idaho State Democratic chairman, will step down". idahostatesman. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  10. ^ "Keith Roark elected Idaho Democratic Party chairman | 43rd State Blues: Democracy for Idaho". www.43rdstateblues.com. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  11. ^ "Election 2012: Larry Grant, Chairman of the Idaho Democratic Party - Idaho Democratic Party". Idaho Democratic Party. 2012-11-07. Archived from the original on 2017-04-18. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  12. ^ Prentice, George. "Same Name, Different Face: Two Larry's, One Democratic Party". Boise Weekly. Archived from the original on 2017-04-01. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  13. ^ "Idaho Democratic Party selects Post Falls native as new chairman". OregonLive.com. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  14. ^ release, Idaho Democratic Party press. "Bannock County Democrats to host Richard Stallings Banquet". Idaho State Journal. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  15. ^ "Richard Stallings Resigns as State Democratic Party Chair". Archived from the original on 2008-08-01.
  16. ^ Wayne Hoffman, Staff. "Voters to Have Lots of Choices in Primary." Idaho Statesman, The (Boise, ID), 2002, p. 01.
  17. ^ Popkey, Dan. "Democrats See Frank Walker as Key to Rebuilding." Idaho Statesman, The (Boise, ID), 2000, p. 01B.
  18. ^ "Moscow-Pullman Daily News - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  19. ^ "Moscow-Pullman Daily News - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  20. ^ "The Spokesman-Review - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  21. ^ "Mel Morgan's Obituary on Idaho State Journal". Idaho State Journal. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  22. ^ "Moscow-Pullman Daily News - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  23. ^ "Hillary Clinton announces her Idaho campaign leadership". idahostatesman. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
  24. ^ "Minnick A Populist Millionaire Ex-Nixon Aide, Ceo Comfortable On Top, Bottom Floors Of Factory". Spokesman.com. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
  25. ^ "Former IDP Chair Conley Ward Passed Away This Week". Idaho Democratic Party. 2013-11-01. Retrieved 2020-08-09.[permanent dead link]
  26. ^ a b c "When Gov. Evans wanted a new chairman, he got one (w/ video)". idahostatesman. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
  27. ^ "George Matthew Klein". The Lewiston Tribune. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
  28. ^ "About John F. Greenfield Law | John F. Greenfield Law Offices". johngreenfieldlaw.com. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
  29. ^ "When a past Idaho governor wanted his own state party chairman, he got him..." Spokesman.com. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
  30. ^ "John F. Greenfield, Of Counsel". The Huntley Law Firm, PLLC. 2012-10-02. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
  31. ^ "Idaho Democratic Delegation 2008". www.thegreenpapers.com. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
  32. ^ Wickline, Michael. "ANONYMOUS FLIER RAISES SUSPICIONS". The Lewiston Tribune. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
  33. ^ "March 11, 2016 Press Release Hillary for Idaho Announces Leadership Council". www.p2016.org. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
  34. ^ "Idaho State Journal, Pocatello, Idaho, June 25, 1972, Page 2". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  35. ^ "Lewiston Morning Tribune - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
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