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The Democratic Party is one of two major political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in the United States and arguably the oldest party in the world.[1]HYPERLINK \l "wp-_note-1"[2]

Since the 2006 midterm elections the Democratic Party is the majority party for the 110th Congress; the party holds an outright majority in the House of Representatives and the Democratic caucus (including two independents) constitutes a majority in the United States Senate. Democrats also hold a majority of state governorships and control a plurality of state legislatures. It is currently the largest political party with 72 million registered members, 42.6 percent of the electorate.[[#wp-_note-Neuhart, P. (22 January, 2004). Why politics is fun from catbirds' seats. USA Today'.|[3]]] The democratic base comprises two widely diverging demographics. On one hand, there are those in the working class, who are commonly conservative on social issues. On the other hand, it includes well-educated and relatively affluent liberals.[4]

The Democratic Party traces its origins to the Democratic-Republican Party, founded by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and other influential opponents of the Federalists in 1792. Since the division of the Republican Party in the election of 1912, it has consistently positioned itself to the left of the Republican Party in economic as well as social matters. The economically left-leaning activist philosophy of Franklin D. Roosevelt, which has strongly influenced American liberalism, has shaped much of the party's economic agenda since 1932. Roosevelt's New Deal coalition usually controlled the national government until 1964. The civil rights movement of the 1960s, championed by the party despite opposition at the time from its Southern wing, has continued to inspire the party's liberal principles.