Democratic Party of Virginia

Democratic Party of Virginia
Chairperson	Susan Swecker
House leader	David Toscano Minority Leader Mark Sickles Caucus Leader
Senate leader	Richard L. Saslaw Minority Leader Mamie Locke Caucus Leader
Founded	1924 (1924)
Headquarters	919 East Main Street.[1] Richmond, Virginia 23223
Youth wing	Young Democrats of Virginia
Women's wing	National Federation of Democratic Women
Overseas wing	Democrats Abroad
LGBT wing	LGBT Democrats of Virginia
Ideology	Majority: Modern liberalism Social liberalism Factions: Centrism Conservatism Democratic socialism Left-wing populism Progressivism Social democracy
Political position	Center to Center-left Left-wing (some factions)
National affiliation	Democratic Party
Colors	Blue
Seats in the US Senate	2 / 2
Seats in the US House	4 / 11
Seats in the VA Senate	19 / 40
Seats in the VA House	49 / 100
VA statewide offices held	3 / 3
Website
www.vademocrats.org

The Democratic Party of Virginia (VA Dems) is based in Richmond in the Commonwealth of Virginia.^[2] It is affiliated with the national Democratic Party of the United States. The organization is governed by a State Party Plan,^[3] which guarantees an open and fair candidate selection process. Although the party has members and elected officials throughout the state, it draws its highest number of votes from the Tidewater area, Metropolitan Richmond, and suburban Washington, D.C.

Historically, the Democratic Party has dominated Virginia politics. At the federal level, since the 2008 United States presidential election, Virginia has always voted for the Democratic United States presidential candidate. Since the 2012 Virginia elections, Virginia has always voted for the Democratic statewide candidate. Since the 112th United States Congress, Democratic United States House of Representatives have been in the minority in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

At the state level, since the 2013 Virginia elections, Virginia has always voted for the Democratic gubernational, lieutenant gubernational, and Attorney General candidates. Since the 1851 Virginia gubernational election, the first gubernatorial election in Virginia in which the governor was elected by direct popular vote, 34 Virginia Governors have been Democrats. Since the 1851 Virginia lieutenant gubernational election, the first lieutenant gubernatorial election in Virginia in which the lieutenant governor was elected by direct popular vote, 29 Virginia Lieutenant Governors have been Democrats. Since the 1851 Virginia Attorney General election, the first Attorney General election in Virginia in which the Attorney General was elected by direct popular vote, 25 Attorneys General have been Democrats. Since June 12, 2014, two days after the resignation of Phillip Puckett, the Senate of Virginia has been controlled by the Republican Party of Virginia. After the 2017 Virginia House of Delegates election, Democrats increased their number of seats in the chamber and currently control 49 seats, with Republicans holding a narrow majority of 51 seats.

Party platform

The party follows the platform of the Democratic National Committee.^[4]

Current elected officials

Historical firsts

African Americans

• First male African American Governor of Virginia: Douglas Wilder
• First male African American Lieutenant Governor of Virginia: Douglas Wilder

Arab Americans

Lebanese Americans

• First female Lebanese American member of the Virginia House of Delegates: Hala Ayala

Palestinian Americans

• First male Palestinian American member of the Virginia House of Delegates: Sam Rasoul

Asian Americans

Korean Americans

• First male Korean American member of the Virginia House of Delegates: Mark Keam

Vietnamese Americans

• First female Vietnamese American member of the Virginia House of Delegates: Kathy Tran

Filipino Americans

• First female Filipino American member of the Virginia House of Delegates: Kelly Fowler

Democratic Socialists of America

• First Democratic Socialists of American member of the Virginia House of Delegates: Lee Carter

Females

• First female Attorney General of Virginia: Mary Sue Terry

Jewish Americans

• First male Jewish American United States House Representative: Norman Sisisky

Latino Americans

Peruvian Americans

• First female Peruvian American member of the Virginia House of Delegates: Elizabeth Guzmán

Salvadoran Americans

• First female Salvadoran American member of the Virginia House of Delegates: Hala Ayala

Mexican Americans

• First female Mexican American member of the Virginia House of Delegates: Kelly Fowler

LGBT

• First openly gay Virginia State Senator: Adam Paul Ebbin
• First openly gay member of the Virginia House of Delegates: Adam Paul Ebbin
• First openly lesbian member of the Virginia House of Delegates: Dawn M. Adams

Transgender

• First openly female transwoman member of the Virginia House of Delegates: Danica Roem

Muslim Americans

• First male Muslim American member of the Virginia House of Delegates: Sam Rasoul

Leadership

See also

• Politics of Virginia
• Byrd Organization
• Republican Party of Virginia
• Green Party of Virginia
• Libertarian Party of Virginia

References

External links

• Democratic Party of Virginia Party Website
• Virginia Young Democrats
• Arlington Democrats
• Senate Caucus
• House Caucus