Tennessee Democratic Party facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tennessee Democratic Party
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| Abbreviation | TNDP |
| Chairperson | Hendrell Remus |
| Senate Minority Leader | Raumesh Akbari |
| House Minority Leader | Karen Camper |
| Founder | Andrew Jackson, John Overton, John H. Eaton, William B. Lewis, Andrew Jackson Donelson, and John Catron |
| Founded | 1826 |
| Headquarters | 4900 Centennial Blvd. Ste 300, Nashville, Tennessee |
| Student wing | Tennessee High School Democrats Tennessee College Democrats |
| Youth wing | Tennessee Young Democrats |
| Women's wing | Tennessee Federation of Democratic Women |
| Ideology | Modern liberalism |
| National affiliation | Democratic Party |
| Colors | Blue |
| Seats in the U.S. Senate |
0 / 2
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| Seats in the U.S. House |
1 / 9
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| Seats in the State Senate |
6 / 33
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| Seats in the State House |
24 / 99
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| Website | |
| tndp.org | |
The Tennessee Democratic Party (TNDP) is the state group for the Democratic Party in Tennessee. It started in 1826 as the Jacksonian Party. This party grew from President Andrew Jackson's ideas in the 1820s.
After Jackson left office, the Democrats in Tennessee faced challenges. The Whig Party became very strong until 1852. Before the Civil War, the Democratic Party became the main party in the state. After the war, the Republican Party was in charge during Reconstruction. But once Reconstruction ended, Democrats controlled Tennessee politics until 2011. That's when the Republican Party took strong control of the Tennessee State Government.
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Early Politics in Tennessee
Before 1824, there weren't many political parties in Tennessee. Since Tennessee joined the United States in 1796, it always voted for the Democratic-Republican Party in presidential elections. This was true from 1796 to 1820.
For the 1824 Presidential Election, Andrew Jackson decided to run. He was a former military general and a U.S. Senator from Tennessee. He ran against John Quincy Adams, who was the Secretary of State.
Both Adams and Jackson were from the same party. But the party had split into different groups. Jackson won the popular vote and had the most Electoral College votes. However, he didn't have enough to win outright. The election then went to the House of Representatives. The top three candidates were John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, and Henry Clay of Kentucky. Clay was the Speaker of the House. He supported Adams' plans for the country. So, Clay helped Adams win the vote in the House. After Adams became president, he made Clay his Secretary of State. This made Jackson and his supporters very angry.
From Jackson to the Civil War
Between 1825 and 1826, Jackson's supporters prepared for him to run in 1828. Even though Jackson didn't say it publicly, he planned to win. His loyal advisors helped form the Jacksonian Party in 1826. This party, with help from Martin Van Buren of New York, became the main political party in the U.S. from 1829 to 1839. In Tennessee, the party didn't have a formal structure at first. But it didn't matter as long as Jackson was in the White House.
When Jackson left the White House, Vice President Martin Van Buren was his chosen successor in 1836. By then, the Whig Party was a strong opponent. Jackson's Democratic Party struggled to get Van Buren elected, even in Jackson's home state. Jackson campaigned hard for Van Buren. But Tennessee's own Senator, Hugh Lawson White, won the state's electoral votes instead. This started a trend. Tennessee voters chose Whig Party candidates in every presidential election from 1836 to 1852.
For other elections, it was a mix of Whigs and Democrats. This continued until the Whig Party fell apart in 1854. In 1856, Tennessee voted for a Democrat for president for the first time since 1836. They voted for James Buchanan. By the Election of 1860, the country was deeply divided over slavery. Tennessee voted for John Bell of the Constitutional Union Party. Most Tennesseans wanted to keep the Union together. But by June 1861, Tennessee voted to leave the Union. It was the last Southern state to join the Confederacy.
After the Civil War
After the Civil War, Tennessee's political scene changed. The state had been under military control since 1862. That's when Union forces captured Nashville. When civilian rule returned, the Republican Party took control in March 1865. This was helped by a rule from Military Governor Andrew Johnson. It stopped Confederate supporters from holding office. Republicans gained control of the General Assembly. They also elected their first Governor, William G. Brownlow.
During the years Republicans were in charge, they gave newly freed slaves the right to vote. They also removed voting rights from former Confederates. They passed laws to fight groups like the Ku Klux Klan. But by 1869, Republican power in the state began to fade. Democrats took control of the state government. The Democratic Party then worked to undo the changes made by the Brownlow government.
By the end of Reconstruction in 1877, Democrats were firmly in charge of Tennessee Government. However, this came at a great cost to many African American voters in the state. From the end of the Civil War until the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s, African Americans mostly voted for Republicans. But when Southern Democrats regained control, they passed laws that led to widespread discrimination. These laws caused generations of African Americans to face unfair treatment and segregation in daily life.
Throughout the rest of the 1800s, Tennessee voters mostly elected Democrats for state and federal offices. Between 1869 and 1900, only two Republicans became Governor of Tennessee. They were Dewitt Clinton Senter and Alvin Hawkins. As the 19th century ended, Tennessee voters still preferred the Democratic Party. But the new century would test this loyalty.
Around 1900, the Temperance movement, which wanted to ban alcohol, grew strong in the state. By 1908, supporters had a powerful ally in newspaper publisher Edward Carmack. Carmack challenged Democratic Governor Malcom Patterson, who was against Prohibition. The election was very close. Patterson narrowly won. After the election, Carmack was shot in Nashville. Governor Patterson later pardoned the shooter. Because of this, Republicans won the Governor's office in 1911 with Ben Hooper.
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By the 1920s, Tennessee's Democratic control began to weaken. Republican Warren G. Harding became the first Republican presidential candidate to win Tennessee since Ulysses S. Grant in 1868. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, important Tennessee Democrats gained national recognition. Jo Byrns became Speaker of the House during President Franklin Roosevelt's time. Cordell Hull became Secretary of State and helped create the United Nations.
Recent History
The Democratic Party was still the main party in Tennessee during the New Deal era. This time saw the rise of powerful political leaders in Memphis and Nashville. In Memphis, E.H. Crump used his influence to gain political power. He helped people he approved of get elected. He held a lot of power until the mid-1940s. His influence then slowly ended in the 1950s.
In the 1950s, Tennessee voters began to move away from the Democratic Party. This happened as the Civil Rights Movement gained strength. Since 1952, Tennessee has voted Democratic in presidential elections only four times: in 1964, 1976, 1992, and 1996. Since the late 1960s, Republicans started to take away the control that Democrats had. This began in 1967 when Howard Baker was elected to the U.S. Senate. Then Bill Brock was elected to the U.S. Senate. And Winfield Dunn became Governor in 1971.
Democratic control kept weakening through the rest of the 20th century. Republicans gained more support from conservatives in the state. By 2000, Tennessee was in the spotlight for the election between Vice President Al Gore of Carthage, Tennessee and George W. Bush of Texas. Gore campaigned hard in Tennessee. But George W. Bush won the state's electoral votes.
After 2000, the Democratic Party's power continued to slip. The last time a Democrat won a statewide election was in 2006. That's when then-Democratic Governor Phil Bredesen won re-election. After 2011, the Democratic Party was completely out of power for the first time since Reconstruction. Since then, the party has had less influence in Tennessee politics. Republicans now have strong control over the state government.
On April 6, 2023, three Democrats faced possible removal from the Tennessee House of Representatives. They were Rep. Justin Jones, Rep. Gloria Johnson, and Rep. Justin J. Pearson. This was the first time since 2016 that members faced expulsion. It happened because Jones, Pearson, and Johnson protested for gun violence prevention. They stood in the middle of the House floor. Speaker Cameron Sexton compared their protest to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Republicans voted to remove both Justin Jones and Justin J. Pearson from the House. But they voted not to remove Gloria Johnson. Later, both Jones and Pearson were sent back to the House by their local governments and by voters in their areas.
Elected Democratic Officials
Members of Congress
Currently, Tennessee's group in Congress has only one Democrat. This is out of the state's nine U.S. House of Representatives seats. Before the 2022 elections, the Republican majority redrew Nashville into three Congressional Districts. This was to make sure Republicans had a very strong majority in Tennessee's Congressional group. The last time Tennessee had more Democrats in its Congressional group was in 2010. Back then, Tennessee Democrats held 5 out of the state's 9 House Seats.
| District | Member | Photo |
|---|---|---|
| 9th Congressional District | Steve Cohen |
Statewide Offices
Tennessee currently does not have any elected Democrats in statewide offices. The last time a Democrat was elected statewide was when former Governor Phil Bredesen won re-election in 2006.
State Legislative Leaders
Since 2011, Tennessee Democrats have been a small minority in both the Tennessee House of Representatives and Tennessee Senate. Currently, Tennessee Democrats hold 24 seats in the Tennessee State House and 6 seats in the Tennessee State Senate.
| Position | State House District | Member | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minority Leader | District 87 | Karen Camper | |
| Caucus Chairman | District 58 | John Ray Clemmons | |
| Assistant Minority Leader | District 55 | Harold Love Jr. | |
| Caucus Vice Chairman | District 56 | Bob Freeman | |
| Minority Floor Leader | District 91 | Torrey Harris | |
| Assistant Floor Leader | District 52 | Justin Jones | |
| Minority Whip | District 53 | Jason Powell | |
| Caucus Treasurer | District 67 | Ronnie Glynn | |
| Minority Leader Pro Tempore | District 88 | Larry J. Miller |
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| Position | State Senate District | Member | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minority Leader | District 29 | Raumesh Akbari | |
| Caucus Chairman | District 33 | London Lamar |
Party Leadership
The Tennessee Democratic Party is led by a Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer. These leaders are chosen by the State Executive Committee. This committee has one man and one woman from each State Senate District. On January 16, 2021, the State Executive Committee chose Hendrell Remus to be the Chair. Mr. Remus is the first African American to hold this position for the Tennessee Democratic Party.
- Chairman – Hendrell Remus
- Vice Chairwoman – Rachel Campbell
- Treasurer – Carol V. Abney
- Secretary – Ryan Scofield
- Tennessee Senate Caucus Leader – Sen. London Lamar
- Tennessee House Caucus Leader – Rep. John Ray Clemmons
- East Tennessee Regional Vice Chairs
- Debbie Harley-McClaskey
- J. Nathan Higdon, PhD.
- Middle Tennessee Regional Vice Chairs
- Dr. Michelle V. Brown
- Zach Kinslow
- West Tennessee Regional Vice Chairs
- Jasmine Boyd
- Dave Cambron
