{{Short description|US Democratic Party member with conservative political views}} {{About|conservative members of the Democratic Party of the United States|other parties with similar names|Conservative Democratic Party (disambiguation){{!}}Conservative Democratic Party}} {{Distinguish|Conservative democracy}} {{Use American English|date=May 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2026}} {{infobox political party | ideology = {{ubl| |Fiscal conservatism |Social conservatism }} | position = Center to center-right }} {{Conservatism US|Parties}} In American politics, a '''Conservative Democrat''' is a member of the Democratic Party with more conservative views than most Democrats. Traditionally, conservative Democrats have been elected to office from the Southern states, rural areas, the Rust Belt, and the Great Plains.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/|title=Political ideology among adults in the Midwest – Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics|website=Pew Research Center|language=en-US|access-date=June 5, 2019|archive-date=January 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103045246/https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019, the Pew Research Center found that 14% of Democratic and Democratic-leaning registered voters identify as conservative or very conservative, 38% identify as moderate, and 47% identify as liberal or very liberal.<ref name=":0" />
Before 1964, the Democratic Party and Republican Party each had influential liberal, moderate, and conservative wings. During this period, conservative Democrats formed the Democratic half of the conservative coalition. After 1964, the Democratic Party retained its conservative wing through the 1970s with the help of urban machine politics. In the 21st century, the number of conservative Democrats decreased as the party moved leftward.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/03/10/the-polarization-in-todays-congress-has-roots-that-go-back-decades/|title=The polarization in today's Congress has roots that go back decades|website=pewresearch.org|first=Drew|last=DeSilver|date=March 10, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-the-democrats-have-shifted-left-over-the-last-30-years/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218033610/https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-the-democrats-have-shifted-left-over-the-last-30-years/|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 18, 2019|title=Why The Democrats Have Shifted Left Over The Last 30 Years|website=fivethirtyeight.com|last=Sach|first=Maddie|date=December 16, 2019}}</ref>
The Blue Dog Coalition represents centrist and conservative Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives.<ref>Edward G. Carmines, and Michael Berkman, "Ethos, ideology, and partisanship: Exploring the paradox of conservative Democrats." ''Political Behavior'' 16 (1994): 203-218. [https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=ffa0e22fd748b9fe44a03cfa2bd7d38afe775c6a online]</ref><ref>Adam J. Schiffer, "I'm not that liberal: Explaining conservative democratic identification." ''Political Behavior'' 22 (2000): 293-310.</ref>
==History== ===1876–1964: Solid South=== {{Main|Solid South}}
The Solid South describes the reliable electoral support of the U.S. Southern states for Democratic Party candidates for almost a century after the Reconstruction era. Except for 1928, when Catholic candidate Al Smith ran on the Democratic ticket, Democrats won heavily in the South in every presidential election from 1876 until 1964 (and even in 1928, the divided South provided most of Smith's electoral votes). Democratic Party domination was bolstered by restrictions preventing blacks from voting<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/issues/suffrage-south-part-ii-one-party-system/|title=Suffrage in the South Part II: The One Party System|date=April 8, 2014}}</ref> and built on white supremacist Southerners' animosity towards the Republican Party's role in the Civil War and Reconstruction.<ref>C. Vann Woodward, ''The Origins of the New South, 1877–1913'' (1951) pp 235–90</ref>
===1874–1928: Rise of agrarian populism=== In 1896, William Jennings Bryan won the Democratic Party nomination by promoting silver over gold, and denouncing the banking system. He had a strong base in the South and Plains states, as well as silver mining centers in the Rocky Mountain states. He was weak in urban areas and immigrant communities which opposed prohibition.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kazin |first1=Michael |title=A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan |date=2006 |publisher=Knopf |isbn=978-0-375-41135-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/godlyherolifeo00kazi }}</ref> He also won the Populist nomination. Conservative Democrats opposed him, especially in the Northeast where "Gold Democrats" were most active. "Gold Democrats" were supporters of Grover Cleveland, the hero of conservative Democrats. They formed the National Democratic Party and nominated John Palmer, former governor of Illinois, for president and Simon Bolivar Buckner, former governor of Kentucky, for vice-president. They also nominated a few other candidates, including William Campbell Preston Breckinridge for Congress in Kentucky, but they won no elections.<ref>James A. Barnes, "The gold-standard Democrats and the party conflict." ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review'' 17.3 (1930): 422–450. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1893079 online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211219200750/https://www.jstor.org/stable/1893079 |date=2021-12-19 }}</ref> Bryan and people he supported (especially Woodrow Wilson) usually dominated the party. However the conservatives did nominate their candidate in 1904, Alton B. Parker.<ref>John H. Sloan, " 'I have kept the faith': William Jennings Bryan and the Democratic national convention of 1904." ''Southern Journal of Communication'' 31.2 (1965): 114–123.</ref>
===1932–1948: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal coalition=== {{main|New Deal coalition|Conservative coalition|List of critics of the New Deal}}
The 1932 election brought about a major realignment in political party affiliation. Franklin D. Roosevelt forged a coalition of labor unions, liberals, Catholics, African Americans, and southern whites.<ref name="lubell1956">{{cite book |title=The Future of American Politics |publisher=Anchor Press |author=Lubell, Samuel |year=1956 |pages=62–63 |edition=2nd|ol = 6193934M}}</ref><ref>Robert C. Benedict, Matthew J. Burbank and Ronald J. Hrebenar, ''Political Parties, Interest Groups and Political Campaigns''. Westview Press. 1999. Page 11.</ref> Roosevelt's program for alleviating the Great Depression, collectively known as the New Deal, emphasized only economic issues, and thus was compatible with the views of those who supported the New Deal programs but were otherwise conservative. This included the Southern Democrats, who were an important part of FDR's New Deal coalition. A number of chairmanships were also held by conservative Democrats during the New Deal years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Egksw4B-WvMC|title=The Senate, 1789-1989: Addresses on the History of the United States Senate|first=Robert C.|last=Byrd|date=July 16, 1988|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|via=Google Books}}</ref>
Conservative Democrats came to oppose the New Deal, especially after 1936. They included Senator Harry F. Byrd and his powerful state organization in Virginia, Senator Rush Holt Sr., Senator Josiah Bailey, and Representative Samuel B. Pettengill. The American Liberty League was formed in 1934, to oppose the New Deal. It was made up of wealthy businessmen and conservative Democrats including former Congressman Jouett Shouse of Kansas, former Congressman from West Virginia and 1924 Democratic presidential candidate, John W. Davis, and former governor of New York and 1928 Democratic presidential candidate Al Smith. In 1936, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of War, Henry Skillman Breckinridge ran against Roosevelt for the Democratic nomination for president. John Nance Garner, of Texas, 32nd Vice President of the United States under Roosevelt, a conservative Southerner, broke with Roosevelt in 1937 and ran against him for the Democratic nomination for president in 1940, but lost. By 1938 conservative Democrats in Congress—chiefly from the South—formed a coalition with Republicans that largely blocked liberal domestic policy until the 1960s.<ref>James T. Patterson, "A conservative coalition forms in Congress, 1933–1939." ''Journal of American History'' 52.4 (1966): 757–772 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1894345 online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508104154/https://www.jstor.org/stable/1894345 |date=2022-05-08 }}.</ref><ref>Ira Katznelson, Kim Geiger, and Daniel Kryder, ''Limiting Liberalism: The Southern Veto in Congress, 1933–1950.'' ''Political Science Quarterly'' 108 (1993): 283–306 [https://hist590.pbworks.com/f/Katznelson%2Bet%2Bal%2BLimiting%2BLiberalism.pdf online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411013134/http://hist590.pbworks.com/f/Katznelson+et+al+Limiting+Liberalism.pdf |date=2020-04-11 }}</ref>
However, most of the conservative Southern Democrats supported the foreign policy of Roosevelt and Truman.<ref>Charles O. Lerche, "Southern Congressmen and the 'New Isolationism.' " ''Political Science Quarterly'', 75#3, 1960, pp. 321–37,[https://doi.org/10.2307/2146386 online]</ref>
Roosevelt tried to purge the more conservative Democrats in numerous states in 1938. He especially tried to unseat those up for reelection who defeated his plan to pack the Supreme Court in 1937. He failed in nearly all cases, except for a major success in defeating John J. O'Connor in Manhattan, a spokesman for big business.<ref>Susan Dunn, ''Roosevelt's Purge: How FDR Fought to Change the Democratic Party'' (2010) passim, esp. p. 204.</ref>
A different source of conservative Democratic dissent against the New Deal came from a group of journalists who considered themselves classical liberals and Democrats of the old school, and were opposed to big government programs on principle; these included Albert Jay Nock and John T. Flynn, whose views later became influential in the libertarian movement.<ref>Ronald Hamowy, ed. ''The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism'' (Cato Institute). pp. 356–357.</ref>
===1948–1968: Segregationist backlash=== {{further|Dixiecrat|T. Coleman Andrews|Harry F. Byrd|George Wallace|American Independent Party}} The proclamation by President Harry S. Truman and Minneapolis Mayor Hubert Humphrey of support for a civil rights plank in the Democratic Party platform of 1948 led to a walkout of 35 delegates from Mississippi and Alabama. These southern delegations nominated their own States Rights Democratic Party, better known as the Dixiecrats, nominees with South Carolina Governor Strom Thurmond leading the ticket (Thurmond would later represent South Carolina in the U.S. Senate, and join the Republicans in 1964). The Dixiecrats held their convention in Birmingham, Alabama, where they nominated Thurmond for president and Fielding L. Wright, governor of Mississippi, for vice president. Dixiecrat leaders worked to have Thurmond-Wright declared the "official" Democratic Party ticket in Southern states.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lemmon |first1=Sarah McCulloh |date=December 1951 |title=The Ideology of the 'Dixiecrat' Movement |journal=Social Forces |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=162–71 |doi=10.2307/2571628 |jstor=2571628}}</ref> They succeeded in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina; in other states, they were forced to run as a third-party ticket. Preston Parks, elected as a presidential elector for Truman in Tennessee, instead voted for the Thurmond-Wright ticket. Leander Perez attempted to keep the States Rights Party alive in Louisiana after 1948.
Similar breakaway Southern Democratic candidates running on states' rights and segregationist platforms would continue in 1956 (T. Coleman Andrews), and 1960 (Harry F. Byrd). None would be as successful as the American Independent Party campaign of George Wallace, the Democratic governor of Alabama, in 1968. Wallace had briefly run in the Democratic primaries of 1964 against Lyndon Johnson, but dropped out of the race early. In 1968, he formed the new American Independent Party and received 13.5% of the popular vote, and 46 electoral votes, carrying several Southern states.<ref>''The Politics of Rage: George Wallace, the Origins of the New Conservatism, and the Transformation of American Politics''. Dan T. Carter. Simon & Schuster Press (1995).</ref> The AIP would run presidential candidates in several other elections, including Southern Democrats (Lester Maddox in 1976 and John Rarick in 1980), but none of them did nearly as well as Wallace.
===1970–1999=== {{See also|Boll weevil (politics)}} After 1968, with desegregation a settled issue, conservative Democrats, mostly Southerners, managed to remain in the United States Congress throughout the 1970s and 1980s. These included Democratic House members as conservative as Larry McDonald, who was also a leader in the John Birch Society. During the administration of Ronald Reagan, the term "boll weevils" was applied to this bloc of conservative Democrats, who consistently voted in favor of tax cuts, increases in military spending, and deregulation favored by the Reagan administration but were opposed to cuts in social welfare spending.<ref name="Moore">"Boll Weevils" in ''Elections A-Z'' (ed. John L. Moore: Congressional Quarterly, 1999). Routledge ed. 2013. pp. 27–28.</ref>
''Boll weevils'' was sometimes used as a political epithet by Democratic Party leaders, implying that the boll weevils were unreliable on key votes or not team players. Most of the boll weevils either retired from office or (like Senators Phil Gramm and Richard Shelby) switched parties and joined the Republicans. Since 1988, the term ''boll weevils'' has fallen out of favor.
Split-ticket voting was common among conservative Southern Democrats in the 1970s and 1980s. These voters supported conservative Democrats for local and statewide office while simultaneously voting for Republican presidential candidates. For example, Kent Hance defeated future president George W. Bush in the 1978 midterms.<ref>Roger Chapman, ''Culture Wars: An Encyclopedia'' (2010) vol 1 Page 136</ref> They were sometimes humorously called "Yellow dog Democrats", or "boll weevils" and "Dixiecrats". According to journalist Ed Kilgore, Yellow Dog Democrats were Southerners who saw the Democratic Party as "the default vehicle for day-to-day political life, and the dominant presence, regardless of ideology, for state and local politics."<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://washingtonmonthly.com/2014/11/10/from-yellow-dogs-to-blue-dogs-to-new-dogs/|title=From Yellow Dogs To Blue Dogs To New Dogs|first1=Ed|last1=Kilgore|date=November 10, 2014|website=Washington Monthly|access-date=December 24, 2016}}</ref>
In the House after the 1994 Republican Revolution, the Blue Dog Coalition was formed, a caucus of conservatives and centrists willing to broker compromises with the Republican leadership who acted as a unified voting bloc in the past, giving its members some ability to change legislation, depending on their numbers in Congress.
===2000–present=== [[File:State Dining Room 2009.jpg|thumb|right|250px|President Barack Obama meets with the Blue Dog Coalition in the State Dining Room in 2009.]] During the 2006 midterm elections, the Democratic Party ran moderates and even a few conservative Democrats for at-risk Republican seats.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite news|last=Hook|first=Janet|title=A right kind of Democrat|work=Los Angeles Times|date=October 26, 2006|url=https://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-dems26oct26,0,449876.story?track=tothtml|access-date=September 1, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091014204115/http://articles.latimes.com/2006/oct/26/nation/na-dems26|archive-date=October 14, 2009}} See also: {{cite news|last=Dewan|first=Shaila|author2=Kornblut, Anne E.|title=In Key House Races, Democrats Run to the Right|work=The New York Times|date=October 30, 2006|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/30/us/politics/30dems.html|access-date=November 10, 2006|archive-date=July 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190727021022/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/30/us/politics/30dems.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Blue Dog Democrats gained nine seats during the elections.<ref>{{cite web|author=Michael |url=http://www.bluedogs.us/ |title=Blue Dogs {{pipe}} The Blue Dogs of the Democratic Party |website=Bluedogs.us |access-date=February 23, 2016}}</ref> The New Democrats had support from 27 of the 40 Democratic candidates running for at-risk Republican seats.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
In his 2010 campaign for reelection, Walter Minnick, U.S. Representative for Idaho's 1st congressional district, was endorsed by Tea Party Express, an extremely rare occurrence for a Democrat.<ref>{{cite news |last=Stein |first=Sam |date=April 15, 2010 |title=Walt Minnick Tea Party Endorsement: Minnick Campaign Accepts |work=Huffington Post |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/15/walt-minnick-tea-party-en_n_538837.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=April 22, 2010 |title=Walt Minnick: The Tea Party's 'token Democrat'? |url=http://theweek.com/article/index/202139/walt-minnick-the-tea-partys-token-democrat |access-date=February 23, 2016 |website=Theweek.com}}</ref> Minnick was the only Democrat to receive a 100% rating from the Club for Growth, an organization that typically supports conservative Republicans.<ref>{{cite web |last=Cadei |first=Emily |date=August 13, 2009 |title=Minnick Earns Perfect Score on 'RePork Card' |url=http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/eyeon2010/2009/08/minnick-earns-perfect-score-on.html |work=CQ Politics |access-date=October 7, 2014 |archive-date=August 16, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090816094334/http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/eyeon2010/2009/08/minnick-earns-perfect-score-on.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Minnick lost to Raúl Labrador, a conservative Republican, in the general election.
The Washington Post noted the waning influence of the conservative Democratic Blue Dog Coalition voting bloc, losing over half of their previously more than 50 U.S. House members in the 2010 midterms.<ref name="blue-dog-regroup">{{cite news |last1=Kane |first1=Paul |date=2014-01-15 |title=Blue Dog Democrats, whittled down in number, are trying to regroup |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/blue-dog-democrats-whittled-down-in-number-are-trying-to-regroup/2014/01/15/37d4e7e2-7dfd-11e3-95c6-0a7aa80874bc_story.html |url-status=live |access-date=2014-07-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116091758/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/blue-dog-democrats-whittled-down-in-number-are-trying-to-regroup/2014/01/15/37d4e7e2-7dfd-11e3-95c6-0a7aa80874bc_story.html |archive-date=2014-01-16 |quote=Four years ago, they were the most influential voting bloc on Capitol Hill, more than 50 House Democrats pulling their liberal colleagues to a more centrist, fiscally conservative vision on issues such as health care and Wall Street reforms.}}</ref> In the 2018 House of Representatives elections, the Democratic Party nominated moderate to conservative candidates in many contested districts and won a majority in the chamber. In the aftermath of the elections, the Blue Dog Coalition expanded to 27 members.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mendoza |first1=Jessica |title=Centrist Democrats are back. But these are not your father's Blue Dogs. |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2019/0604/Centrist-Democrats-are-back.-But-these-are-not-your-father-s-Blue-Dogs |website=The Christian Science Monitor |access-date=July 3, 2020 |date=June 4, 2019 |archive-date=December 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211229170218/https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2019/0604/Centrist-Democrats-are-back.-But-these-are-not-your-father-s-Blue-Dogs |url-status=live }}</ref>
During the 117th Congress with the Senate evenly split 50-50, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia as the most conservative member of the Senate Democratic Caucus,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Colegrove |first=Andrew |date=2016-11-10 |title=Senator Manchin refutes speculation of a party switch |url=https://www.wsaz.com/content/news/Senator-Manchin-refutes-speculation-of-a-party-switch--400628491.html |access-date= |website=WSAZ-TV |language=en}}</ref> therefore he wielded enormous influence in that time. Manchin refused to abolish the Senate filibuster for non-budget reconciliation-related legislation, but did vote to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court and pass the Inflation Reduction Act.<ref name="theguardian.com">{{cite news|last1=Sirota|first1=David|date=March 8, 2021|title=Joe Biden might be in the White House, but Joe Manchin runs the presidency|newspaper=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/08/biden-manchin-presidency-power-democrats-congress|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309172352/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/08/biden-manchin-presidency-power-democrats-congress|archive-date=March 9, 2021|authorlink=David Sirota}}</ref><ref name="newsweek.com">{{cite news|last1=Zhao|first1=Christina|date=March 7, 2021|title=Joe Manchin Insists He Doesn't Like Being Most Powerful Senator as He Appears on 4 Sunday Shows|newspaper=Newsweek|url=https://www.newsweek.com/joe-manchin-insists-he-doesnt-like-being-most-powerful-senator-he-appears-4-sunday-shows-1574348|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309161626/https://www.newsweek.com/joe-manchin-insists-he-doesnt-like-being-most-powerful-senator-he-appears-4-sunday-shows-1574348|archive-date=March 9, 2021}}</ref> During the 2022 midterms, Democrats narrowly lost their House majority, though they gained a seat in the Senate. The Blue Dog Coalition was reduced to eight members, the lowest number in its history.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Mutnick |first1=Ally |last2=Ferris |first2=Sarah |date=January 24, 2023 |title=Rebranding rift guts Blue Dog Dem ranks |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/24/democrats-departing-blue-dog-coalition-00079113 |access-date=January 24, 2023 |website=POLITICO}}</ref> During the 118th Congress, Manchin was again considered a key swing vote in the Senate, alongside Kyrsten Sinema.
In 2023, Manchin announced he would not seek re-election in 2024.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Goodwin |first1=Liz |last2=Wang |first2=Amy B. |last3=Scherer |first3=Michael |date=2023-11-10 |title=Senate Democrat Joe Manchin says he will not seek reelection |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/09/manchin-senate-reelection/ |access-date= |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Manchin left the Democratic Party and registered as an Independent on May 31, 2024.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.manchin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/manchin-registers-as-independent|title=Manchin Registers As Independent|website=U.S. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia|date=May 31, 2024|first1=Joe|last1=Manchin}}</ref>
By 2026, some conservatives opposing the MAGA movement and Trumpism likewise defected to become Democrats, such as George Conway and Olivia Troye.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Alan |date=January 6, 2026 |title=Republican-turned-Democrat George Conway is running for Congress in New York to 'fight Trumpism' |website=NBC News |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/republican-turned-democrat-george-conway-running-congress-new-york-fig-rcna252088 |access-date=May 22, 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=April 16, 2026 |title=Former Trump official rips his first presidency: 'The evil was staggering' |url=https://www.wonderwall.com/politics/olivia-troye-rips-president-donald-trump-first-administration-staggering-evil/ |access-date=May 22, 2026 |website=Wonderwall |language=en}}</ref>
==Blue Dog Coalition== {{Main|Blue Dog Coalition}}
The Blue Dog Coalition was formed in 1995<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rollcall.com/news/blue-dogs|title=20 Years In, Blue Dogs Not Ready to Roll Over|first1=Emma|last1=Dumain|date=May 12, 2015|website=rollcall.com|access-date=October 7, 2019|archive-date=August 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805120142/https://www.rollcall.com/news/blue-dogs|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://bluedogcaucus-costa.house.gov/about/history|title=History – Blue Dog Coalition|work=BlueDogCaucus-Schrader.house.gov/|access-date=November 15, 2016|archive-date=April 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421021117/https://bluedogcaucus-costa.house.gov/about/history|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ross.house.gov/BlueDog/history.htm|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20120405021833/http://ross.house.gov/BlueDog/history.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 5, 2012|title=History, Blue Dog Coalition|publisher=House.gov|access-date=April 10, 2012}}</ref> during the 104th Congress to give members from the Democratic Party representing conservative-leaning districts a unified voice after Democrats' loss of Congress in the 1994 Republican Revolution.<ref>Naftali Bendavid (July 28, 2009). "'Blue Dog' Democrats Hold Health-Care Overhaul at Bay". ''The Wall Street Journal''.</ref> The coalition consists of centrist and conservative Democrats.<ref name= "Brindisi" />
The term "Blue Dog Democrat" is credited to Texas Democratic U.S. Representative Pete Geren (who later joined the Bush administration). Geren opined that the members had been "choked blue" by Democrats on the left.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wordcraft.infopop.cc/Archives/2004-11-Nov.htm|title=Wordcraft Archives, November 2004|website=Wordcraft.infopop.cc|access-date=February 23, 2016|archive-date=February 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202210226/https://wordcraft.infopop.cc/Archives/2004-11-Nov.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> It is related to the political term "Yellow Dog Democrat", a reference to Southern Democrats said to be so loyal they would even vote for a yellow dog before they would vote for any Republican. The term is also a reference to the "Blue Dog" paintings of Cajun artist George Rodrigue of Lafayette, Louisiana.<ref name="bluedog.time">{{cite magazine|last=Suddath|first=Claire|title=A Brief History of Blue Dog Democrats|magazine=Time|date=July 28, 2009|url=http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1913057,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090731112633/http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1913057,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 31, 2009|access-date=September 7, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Safire|first=William|title=On Language; Blue Dog Demo|journal=The New York Times|date=April 23, 1995|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/23/magazine/on-language-blue-dog-demo.html|access-date=September 7, 2009|archive-date=May 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507125449/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/23/magazine/on-language-blue-dog-demo.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
The Blue Dog Coalition "advocates for fiscal responsibility, a strong national defense and bipartisan consensus rather than conflict with Republicans". It acts as a check on legislation that its members perceive to be too far to the right or the left on the political spectrum.<ref name= "Brindisi">{{cite web|url=https://www.syracuse.com/politics/2019/02/anthony-brindisi-to-co-chair-blue-dogs-caucus-of-moderate-house-democrats.html|title=Anthony Brindisi to co-chair Blue Dogs, caucus of moderate House Democrats|first=Mark|last=Weiner|date=February 1, 2019|website=syracuse.com|access-date=October 7, 2019|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308154337/https://www.syracuse.com/politics/2019/02/anthony-brindisi-to-co-chair-blue-dogs-caucus-of-moderate-house-democrats.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Blue Dog Coalition is often involved in searching for a compromise between liberal and conservative positions. As of 2014, there was no mention of social issues in the official Blue Dog materials.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/2014/11/12/bye_bye_blue_dog_democrats_what_the_end_of_conservative_dems_means_for_america/|title=Bye-bye, blue dog "Democrats": What the end of conservative Dems means for America|last=Parton|first=Heather Digby|website=Salon|date=12 November 2014|access-date=December 24, 2016|archive-date=23 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223070351/http://www.salon.com/2014/11/12/bye_bye_blue_dog_democrats_what_the_end_of_conservative_dems_means_for_america/|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Ideology and polls== Historically, Southern Democrats were generally much more conservative than conservative Democrats are now, and formed the Democratic half of the conservative coalition.<ref name="End">{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/2014/11/12/bye_bye_blue_dog_democrats_what_the_end_of_conservative_dems_means_for_america/|title=Bye-bye, blue dog "Democrats": What the end of conservative Dems means for America|last=Parton|first=Heather Digby|website=Salon|date=November 12, 2014 |access-date=December 24, 2016|quote=To be sure, they also tended to vote with the right on national security issues but they were explicitly organized around market based economics and fiscal conservatism from the very beginning and they never wavered in their dedication to those ideals. ... Not that the members weren't traditional values types. Most were. And they surely ran for office on those issues as well. But there is not one word in the official Blue Dog materials about social issues.}}</ref> After the 1994 Republican Revolution, the Republican Party won a majority of U.S. House seats in the South for the first time since Reconstruction, with the remaining conservative Democrats forming the Blue Dog Coalition.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/11/us/1994-elections-south-rising-gop-tide-overwhelms-democratic-levees-south.html|title=THE 1994 ELECTIONS: THE SOUTH; The Rising G.O.P. Tide Overwhelms the Democratic Levees in the South|author=Peter Applebome |date=November 11, 1994| access-date=September 22, 2014 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>
Conservative Democrats are generally fiscally conservative, and are often also socially conservative.<ref name="End"/> According to journalist Ed Kilgore, Yellow Dog Democrats were Southerners who saw the Democratic Party as "the default vehicle for day-to-day political life, and the dominant presence, regardless of ideology, for state and local politics."<ref name="auto"/>
In 2019, the Pew Research Center found that 14% of Democratic and Democratic-leaning registered voters identify as conservative or very conservative, 38% identify as moderate, and 47% identify as liberal or very liberal.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last1=Gilberstadt |first1=Hannah |last2=Daniller |first2=Andrew |date=2020-01-17 |title=Liberals make up the largest share of Democratic voters, but their growth has slowed in recent years |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/01/17/liberals-make-up-largest-share-of-democratic-voters/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200117201701/https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/01/17/liberals-make-up-largest-share-of-democratic-voters/ |archive-date=2020-01-17 |access-date=2020-06-12 |website=Pew Research Center}}</ref>
==List of conservative Democrats== ===Presidents=== * Franklin Pierce (1853–1857) * James Buchanan (1857–1861) * Andrew Johnson (1865–1869) * Grover Cleveland (1885–1889; 1893–1897)
===Presidential nominees=== *Alton Parker<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Istre |first=Logan S. |date=2020-08-03 |title=Bench over Ballot: The Fight for Judicial Supremacy and the New Constitutional Politics, 1910–1916 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1537781420000079 |journal=The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=2–23 |doi=10.1017/s1537781420000079 |issn=1537-7814|url-access=subscription }}</ref> *John W. Davis<ref>{{Cite book |last=Southwick |first=Leslie H. |title=Presidential also-rans and running mates, 1788 through 1996 |date=1998 |publisher=McFarland & Co |isbn=0-7864-0310-1 |edition=2nd |location=Jefferson, NC |pages=509 |oclc=37379896}}</ref> *Strom Thurmond: Ran in 1948 as a Dixiecrat the southern conservative faction of the Democratic Party. *George Wallace: Ran on the right-wing American Independent Party in 1968 but ran again in 1972 as a Democrat. *John Rarick: U.S. Representative from Louisiana's 6th district (1967-1975). Ran for President of the United States in 1980 on the right-wing American Independent Party.
===Senators=== ====Former==== * Lloyd Bentsen: U.S. Senator from Texas from 1971 to 1993; The 69th Secretary of Treasury from 1993 to 1994 Under Bill Clinton. * John Breaux: U.S. Senator from Louisiana from 1987 to 2005. * Mary Landrieu: U.S. Senator from Louisiana from 1997 to 2015. * Frank Lausche: U.S. Senator from Ohio from 1957 to 1969; supported Ronald Reagan for president in 1984<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-reagan-bush-rally-cleveland-ohio | title=Remarks at a Reagan-Bush Rally in Cleveland, Ohio | the American Presidency Project }}</ref> * Blanche Lincoln: U.S. Senator from Arkansas from 1999 to 2011. * Joe Manchin: U.S. Senator from West Virginia from 2010 to 2025; independent since 2024 but still caucused with Democrats. * Zell Miller: U.S. Senator from Georgia from 2000 to 2005. Supported George W. Bush for president in 2004. * Kyrsten Sinema: U.S. Senator from Arizona from 2019 to 2025; independent since 2022 but still caucused with Democrats.
===Governors=== * John Connally: Governor of Texas from 1963 to 1969. * John Bel Edwards: Governor of Louisiana from 2016 to 2024.<ref>{{cite web |last=Tenbarge |first=Ken |date=November 17, 2019 |title=John Bel Edwards was narrowly re-elected as governor of Louisiana. He's not a typical Democrat. |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/john-bel-edwards-life-bio-re-election-of-conservative-democrat-2019-11 |access-date=March 20, 2021 |work=Business Insider }}</ref><ref name="illum">{{cite news |last1=O'Donoghue |first1=Julie |title=Gov. John Bel Edwards: 'I have never been less inclined to be a Republican than today' |url=https://lailluminator.com/2023/12/14/gov-john-bel-edwards-i-have-never-been-less-inclined-to-be-a-republican-than-today/ |access-date=17 March 2024 |work=Louisiana Illuminator |publisher=States Newsroom |date=14 December 2023}}</ref> * Dave Freudenthal: Governor of Wyoming from 2003 to 2011.
===Representatives===
====Current==== *Sanford Bishop: United States Representative from Georgia ''(Since 1993)''<ref>{{cite web|last=Pugh|first=Tony|date=April 14, 2016|title=Is Sanford Bishop a lock for a 13th term in his Georgia district?|url=https://www.thestate.com/news/politics-government/article71901702.html|access-date=April 14, 2016|website=The State}}</ref> * Jared Golden: Member from Maine's 2nd congressional district since 2019.<ref>{{cite web |date=November 19, 2021 |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/house/582310-jared-golden-only-democrat-to-vote-against-build-back-better-act |title=Jared Golden sole Democrat to vote against Build Back Better Act |work=The Hill|last=Choi |first=Joseph}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Maine Rep. Jared Golden votes against House police reform bill |url=https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/politics/maine-democrat-rep-jared-golden-one-of-two-democrats-to-vote-against-george-floyd-police-reform-bill/97-759bc224-7cdf-4aac-8ce6-29763973fe40 |access-date=2022-07-28 |website=News Center Maine |date=March 4, 2021 |language=en}}</ref> *Jim Costa: Member of the United States House of Representatives from California's (2013–) (2005–present), member of the California Senate from the 16th district (1995–2002), and member of the California State Assembly from the 30th district (1978–1994).<ref>{{cite web|last=Chávez|first=Aída|date=December 15, 2019|title=Trump-Friendly California Democrat Is Facing His First Serious Primary Challenger|url=https://theintercept.com/2019/12/15/california-democrat-jim-costa-primary-challenger/|access-date=December 15, 2019|website=The Intercept}}</ref> *Henry Cuellar: Member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas's 28th congressional district (2005–), 102nd Texas Secretary of State (2001), and member of the Texas House of Representatives (1987–2001).<ref>{{cite web|last=Rogers|first=Alex|date=February 27, 2020|title=AOC-backed challenger targets conservative Texas Democrat ahead of Super Tuesday primary|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/27/politics/texas-house-primary-jessica-cisneros-henry-cuellar/index.html|access-date=February 27, 2020|publisher=CNN}}</ref> *Josh Gottheimer: Member of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey (2017–), attorney, and writer.<ref>{{cite web|last=Carter|first=Zachary D.|date=July 29, 2019|title=Conservative Democratic Ringleader Josh Gottheimer Gets A Progressive Challenger|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/arati-kreibich-josh-gottheimer-progressive-challenge-house-democrat_n_5d3f18e5e4b0d24cde038809|access-date=July 30, 2019|website=HuffPost}}</ref> *Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez: Member of the United States House of Representatives from Washington (2023–), co-chair of the Blue Dog Coalition (2023-).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sammon |first=Alexander |date=August 10, 2023 |title=With Democrats Like Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez, Who Needs Republicans? |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/08/marie-gluesenkamp-perez-washington-congresswoman-sold-out-democrats.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251206071634/https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/08/marie-gluesenkamp-perez-washington-congresswoman-sold-out-democrats.html |archive-date=December 6, 2025 |access-date=February 17, 2026 |work=Slate}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Blue Dog Coalition {{!}} Bold Leadership. Common Sense Solutions. |url=https://bluedogs-gluesenkampperez.house.gov/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260105122630/https://bluedogs-gluesenkampperez.house.gov/ |archive-date=January 5, 2026 |access-date=February 17, 2026 |website=Blue Dog Coalition}}</ref>
====Former==== * Gary Condit - U.S. Congressman from California (1989-2003), Blue Dog Democrat, lone House vote against censuring fellow U.S. representative James Traficant in 2002 * E. Eugene Cox - U.S. Congressman from Georgia (1925-1952), supporter of racial segregation * Larry McDonald - U.S. Congressman from Georgia's 7th district (1975-1983) * Bill Lipinski - U.S. Congressman from Illinois (1983-2005), member of the Blue Dog Coalition of conservative Democrats *David Scott – U.S. Congressman from Georgia (2003–2026), Chair of the House Agriculture Committee (2021–2023), member of the Georgia State Senate from the 36th district (1983–2003), and member of the Georgia House of Representatives (1975–1983).<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hallarman|first=Tamar|date=May 6, 2019|title=David Scott draws primary challenge from well-connected Democrat|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/david-scott-draws-primary-challenge-from-well-connected-democrat/aDKpYxiqKlIpjTnraueJMM/|access-date=May 6, 2019|work=AJC}}</ref> * Gene Taylor - U.S. Congressman from Mississippi (1993-2010) * James Traficant - U.S. House of Representatives member from Ohio (1985-2002)
==See also== {{Portal|Conservatism}}
* Barnburners and Hunkers. Democrats in New York state in 1850s * Blue Dog Coalition * Boll weevil (politics) * Bourbon Democrat, late 19th century * Byrd Machine, in 20th century Virginia * Conservative coalition * Conservative Manifesto * Copperheads (politics) * Democrat in Name Only * Democrats for Life of America * Dixiecrat, 1948 * Factions in the Democratic Party (United States) * Fire-Eaters * Jeffersonian democracy * LaRouche movement * LGBT conservatism in the United States * Libertarian Democrat * National Democratic Party (United States) * New Democrats * Pork Chop Gang, in 20c Florida * Reagan Democrat * Redeemers * Red Shirts (United States), violent opposition to Reconstruction * Regular Democratic Organization * Rockefeller Republican * Southern Democrats * Southern Manifesto * Straight-Out Democratic Party * Texas Regulars * Yellow dog Democrat
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== * Brandt, Karl Gerard, "Deficit politics and Democratic unity: the saga of Tip O'Neill, Jim Wright, and the conservative Democrats in the House of Representatives during the Reagan Era" (PhD dissertation, LSU 2003). [https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/2780 online] * Carmines, Edward G., and Michael Berkman. "Ethos, ideology, and partisanship: Exploring the paradox of conservative Democrats." ''Political Behavior'' 16 (1994): 203–218. [https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=ffa0e22fd748b9fe44a03cfa2bd7d38afe775c6a online] * Claassen, Christopher, Patrick Tucker, and Steven S. Smith. "Ideological labels in America." ''Political Behavior'' 37 (2015): 253–278. [https://repository.essex.ac.uk/13830/1/ClaassenTuckerSmith.pdf online] * Dunn, Susan. ''Roosevelt's Purge: How FDR Fought to Change the Democratic Party'' (2012) in 1938 [https://archive.org/details/rooseveltspurgeh0000dunn online] * Finley, Keith M. ''Delaying the Dream: Southern Senators and the Fight Against Civil Rights, 1938–1965'' (LSU Press, 2008). {{ISBN|0807133450}} * {{cite journal|last1=Franklin|first1=Sekou|title=The elasticity of anti-civil rights discourse: Albert Gore Sr., Richard Russell, and constituent relations in the 1950s and 1960s|journal=Social Identities|date=2014|volume=20|issue=1|page=90|doi=10.1080/13504630.2013.840574|s2cid=144032586}} * Frederickson, Kari A. ''The Dixiecrat revolt and the end of the Solid South, 1932-1968'' (U of North Carolina Press, 2001). [https://archive.org/details/dixiecratrevolte0000fred_z5d7 online] * Heineman, Kenneth J. "Catholics, Communists, and Conservatives: The Making of Cold War Democrats on the Pittsburgh Front." ''US Catholic Historian'' (2016): 25–54. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/26156352 online] * Katznelson, Ira, and Quinn Mulroy. "Was the South pivotal? Situated partisanship and policy coalitions during the New Deal and Fair Deal." ''Journal of Politics'' 74.2 (2012): 604–620. [https://www.sesp.northwestern.edu/docs/publications/13123665545b877ce03d919.pdf online] * Katznelson, Ira, Kim Geiger, and Daniel Kryder. ''Limiting Liberalism: The Southern Veto in Congress, 1933–1950.'' ''Political Science Quarterly'' 108 (1993): 283–306 [https://hist590.pbworks.com/f/Katznelson%2Bet%2Bal%2BLimiting%2BLiberalism.pdf online] * Malsberger, John W. ''From Obstruction to Moderation: The Transformation of Senate Conservatism, 1938–1952.'' (Susquehanna U. Press 2000). [https://archive.org/details/fromobstructiont0000mals online] * Manley, John F. "The conservative coalition in Congress." ''American Behavioral Scientist'' 17.2 (1973): 223–247. * Mead, Howard N. "Russell vs. Talmadge: Southern Politics and the New Deal." ''Georgia Historical Quarterly'' (1981) 65#1: 28–45. * Moore, John Robert. "The Conservative Coalition in the United States Senate, 1942–1945." ''Journal of Southern History'' (1967): 368–376. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2204865 online] * Neiheisel, Jacob R. "The 'L' word: anti-liberal campaign rhetoric, symbolic ideology, and the electoral fortunes of democratic candidates." ''Political Research Quarterly'' 69.3 (2016): 418–429. * Patterson, James T. "A conservative coalition forms in Congress, 1933–1939." ''Journal of American History'' 52.4 (1966): 757–772. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1894345 online] * Rubin, Ruth Bloch. ''Building the bloc: Intraparty organization in the US Congress'' (Cambridge University Press, 2017). * Schiffer, Adam J. "I'm not that liberal: Explaining conservative democratic identification." ''Political Behavior'' 22 (2000): 293–310. * Shelley II, Mack C. ''The Permanent Majority: The Conservative Coalition in the United States Congress'' (1983). * Ward, Jason Morgan. ''Defending White Democracy: The Making of a Segregationist Movement and the Remaking of Racial Politics, 1936–1965'' (Univ of North Carolina Press, 2011). * Young, Cheryl D., John J. Hindera, and Gregory S. Thielemann. "The Conservative Coalition in a New Era: Regionalism and Ideology." ''Southeastern Political Review'' 24.1 (1996): 178–188.
==External links== * [http://www.rightdemocrat.blogspot.com/ Right Democrat: a blog for conservative Democrats] * [https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/29/magazine/moderate-democrat.html The Vanishing Moderate Democrat: a ''New York Times'' article]
Category:Democratic Party (United States) Category:Centrism in the United States Category:Conservatism in the United States Category:Right-wing populism in the United States Category:Factions in the Democratic Party (United States) Category:Political terminology of the United States