THE CANDIDATE

Federal directory · 2026 cycle

Democratic Party

The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, tracing its modern form to the 1828 election of Andrew Jackson.

See every 2026 Democratic Party candidate

1338 of 1904 candidates have filed FEC reports; total raised: $1.17 billion this 2026 cycle.

About the Democratic Party

Federal candidates running on the Democratic Party line, including the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) affiliate.

History of the Democratic Party

Founded
1828
Founder(s)
Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren

The modern Democratic Party dates to 1828, when supporters of Andrew Jackson reorganized the Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans into a national coalition built around mass-party organizing, popular elections, and opposition to the Second Bank of the United States.[1][2] Martin Van Buren, Jackson's successor, is widely credited as the party's principal architect for building the precinct-level structures and patronage system that defined American mass politics for the next century.[1]

For the first half of its existence the Democratic Party drew its strongest support from the white South and was internally divided over slavery; the 1860 convention split into Northern and Southern factions and the resulting Lincoln–Douglas–Breckinridge–Bell four-way race ushered in the Civil War.[1][2] The party rebuilt during Reconstruction and after, dominating the South under the "Solid South" pattern through the early twentieth century.

The Franklin D. Roosevelt era (1933–1945) realigned the Democratic Party around the New Deal coalition of labor unions, urban ethnic voters, Black voters in the North, and Southern whites.[1] The civil-rights legislation passed under Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s collapsed the Southern white component and the party's contemporary base — urban, college-educated, non-white, and younger voters — took shape over the following decades.[2][3]

Sources

  1. [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_(United_States)
  2. [2]https://ballotpedia.org/Democratic_Party
  3. [3]https://democrats.org

Democratic Party platform

The Democratic Party platform, adopted at the quadrennial Democratic National Convention, broadly emphasizes expanded social-insurance programs, civil rights, environmental regulation, and a managed-market approach to economic policy.

  1. 1. Healthcare access

    Expansion of the Affordable Care Act, defense of Medicare and Medicaid, prescription-drug-price negotiation, and a public option or Medicare buy-in for working-age adults.[1][3]

  2. 2. Voting rights and democracy

    Federal voting-rights protections, automatic and same-day voter registration, statehood for the District of Columbia, and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.[1][3]

  3. 3. Climate and clean energy

    A clean-electricity standard, electric-vehicle subsidies, the Inflation Reduction Act's tax credits, and a commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050.[1][3]

  4. 4. Labor and worker protections

    A $15 federal minimum wage, the PRO Act to expand union organizing rights, paid family and medical leave, and child-care subsidies.[1][3]

  5. 5. Reproductive rights

    Codification of Roe v. Wade protections at the federal level after the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson decision, and restoration of nationwide access to reproductive healthcare.[1][3]

Sources

  1. [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_(United_States)
  2. [2]https://democrats.org
  3. [3]https://ballotpedia.org/Democratic_Party

Recent electoral performance — Democratic Party

The Democratic Party currently holds the U.S. Senate minority and U.S. House minority. The 2024 presidential election was won by the Republican candidate; the Democratic Party retained the vice presidency from 2021 to 2025 and the presidency from 2021 to 2025.

  • 2024 presidential vote: Kamala Harris received roughly 48% of the national popular vote, losing the Electoral College to Donald Trump.[1][2]
  • 119th Congress (sworn January 2025): 47 Democratic senators (plus two Democratic-caucusing independents) and 215 Democratic House members.[2]
  • 2022 midterms: Democrats lost the House majority by a narrow margin but expanded their Senate seats from 50 to 51, defying historical midterm patterns.[2]
  • State-level: Democratic governors hold roughly 23 governorships heading into the 2026 cycle, including most West Coast and Northeast states.[2]

Sources

  1. [1]https://ballotpedia.org/Democratic_Party
  2. [2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_(United_States)

Current federal representation — Democratic Party

Federal incumbents currently filing under the Democratic Party for the 2026 cycle, sourced from FEC `cand_pty_affiliation = DEM` (including the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor affiliate DFL).

224 current federal incumbents on the Democratic Party line in the 2026 cycle.

U.S. House incumbents (211)

Democratic Party candidates — 2026 cycle

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U.S. Senate

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