Yellow dog Democrat

The Carolina Dog's wildness and its ginger coat led to its being called a "yaller dog", which in turn may have led to the expression "yellow dog Democrat".[1]

Yellow dog Democrats is a political term that was applied to voters in the Southern United States who voted solely for candidates who represented the Democratic Party. The term originated in the late 19th century. These voters would allegedly "vote for a yellow dog before they would vote for any Republican",[2][3] or, "vote for a yellow dog if he ran on the Democratic ticket".[1] The term is now more generally applied to refer to any Democrat who will vote a straight party ticket under any circumstances. The South Carolina Democratic Party and Mississippi Democratic Party, among other state parties, continue to use the phrase to refer to committed members of the Democratic Party in the "Yellow Dog Club".[4][5]

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."[6]

The term "yellow dog" may be a reference to the Carolina Dog, a dog breed without European heritage and indigenous to the Americas (specifically the Southern United States).[1]

  1. ^ a b c Hitt, Jack (July 15, 2013). "D.N.A. Backs Lore on Pre-Columbian Dogs". New York Times. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  2. ^ "A Solid Leader for Solid South". LIFE. Vol. 40, no. 21. Chicago: Time. May 21, 1956. pp. 31–35. Page 34 "We're pretty much yellow-dog Democrats here," said an Arkansan last week, explaining the state would vote Democratic even if the party nominates a "yellow dog."
  3. ^ Morton, Julius Sterling (August 11, 1898). "In Old Times". The Conservative. 1 (5). Nebraska City, Nebraska: Morton Print. Co: 6.. The Republican party of Nebraska, when its nomination to a state office was equivalent to an election, boasted that it could run "a yellow dog" for Governor and beat the best and ablest Democrat named for that office.
  4. ^ "Yellow Dog Democrats". scdp.org. South Carolina Democratic Party. 2016. Retrieved December 24, 2016.
  5. ^ "Yellow Dogs". Mississippi Democratic Party. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  6. ^ Digby Parton, Heather (November 12, 2014). "Bye-bye, blue dog "Democrats": What the end of conservative Dems means for America". Salon.