Alabama Democratic Party

The Alabama Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Alabama. It is chaired by Randy Kelley.

The Alabama Democratic Party was once one of the most successful political organizations in the United States. Even after the major party realignment in the height the Civil Rights movement and the Republican Party's introduction of the Southern strategy, Democrats continued winning state and local races in Alabama. This was also unaffected by presidential elections; federally, Alabama has not voted for a Democrat for president since Jimmy Carter was the nominee in 1976. Republicans remained associated with the North, big business, and opportunism. Despite H. Guy Hunt having become the first Republican governor since reconstruction in 1986, Democrats had retained most statewide control. The tide only began to change in the 2000s, after Democrat Don Siegelman narrowly lost the 2002 Alabama gubernatorial election. The Democrats did not lose control of the Alabama legislature until 2010, when the Alabama Republican Party gained a majority in both houses for the first time in 150 years. Alabama lawmaker Roger Bedford, Jr. attributed this to a “Red Obama backlash tsunami”, and the growing influence of George W. Bush's Republican Party in the South after the September 11 attacks.

Alabama is now one of the reddest states in the country, a striking departure from its relatively-recent status as a Democratic stronghold. In Congress, Democrats hold one out of Alabama's seven seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. In the state legislature, they remain the minority party. Democrats are also the minority party in statewide offices. Extensive gerrymandering by Republicans has essentially prevented Democrats being re-elected in considerable numbers for the foreseeable future.