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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, and the Great Plains.[1] 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.[2]
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.[3][4]
The Blue Dog Coalition represents centrist and conservative Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives.[5][6]
- ^ "Political ideology among adults in the Midwest – Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics". Pew Research Center. Archived from the original on January 3, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:0was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ DeSilver, Drew (March 10, 2022). "The polarization in today's Congress has roots that go back decades". pewresearch.org.
- ^ Sach, Maddie (December 16, 2019). "Why The Democrats Have Shifted Left Over The Last 30 Years". fivethirtyeight.com.
- ^ Edward G. Carmines, and Michael Berkman, "Ethos, ideology, and partisanship: Exploring the paradox of conservative Democrats." Political Behavior 16 (1994): 203-218. online
- ^ Adam J. Schiffer, "I'm not that liberal: Explaining conservative democratic identification." Political Behavior 22 (2000): 293-310.