Democratic Party of North Carolina

Democratic Party of North Carolina
Basic facts
Location:	Raleigh, N.C.
Type:	Political party
Affiliation:	Democratic
Top official:	Wayne Goodwin, Chair
Website:	Official website

The Democratic Party of North Carolina is the North Carolina political party affiliate of the national Democratic Party. The group is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Background

The Democratic Party of North Carolina (NCDP) was the dominant political party in the state for the majority of the 20th century. Toward the end of the 20th century, the Republican Party gained a foothold in state politics and North Carolina became a two-party state. As of June 2017, North Carolina had a divided government under Democratic Governor Roy Cooper and a Republican-controlled state legislature.

The NCDP has nine auxiliary groups in North Carolina: the African American Caucus, the Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus, the Association of North Carolina Democratic County Chairs, the Democratic Women of North Carolina, the Hispanic American Democrats of North Carolina, the LGBT Democrats of North Carolina, the North Carolina Senior Democrats, the North Carolina Teen Democrats and the Young Democrats.

Platform

The party's 2016 platform is composed of 22 main issues:

• Agriculture and aquaculture
  "Farming is important to all North Carolinians, and we respect the contributions made by farmers and agribusiness to our economy and our way of life."
• Children and families
  "Our future as a State and nation depends upon the daily assumption of personal responsibility by millions of Americans from all walks of life -- for the religious faiths they follow, the ethics they practice, the values they instill, the pride they take in their work, and the families they build."
• Civil justice
  "We believe that an efficient civil justice system is necessary to protect individual rights, to maintain a stable business environment, and to promote social order."
• Consumer protection
  "The North Carolina Democratic Party urges government agencies to continue their efforts to protect consumers and to promote confidence in a fair marketplace that is free from price fixing, price gouging, unfair restraints of trade, deception, fraud, and other abuses that undermine free enterprise system."
• Substance use disorders
  "We believe any policy adopted by the North Carolina General Assembly should include a three-pronged approach that focuses on prevention, treatment and recovery."
• Economic and community development
  "The health of our State and of our nation depends on sustainable balanced growth. We believe that economic growth expands opportunity for everyone. The free market, regulated in the public interest, is the best engine of general prosperity."
• Economic and financial security
  "We believe government must provide a safety net covering the basic human needs of all citizens and should work to enrich their quality of life. To fulfill this responsibility, all persons should have the opportunity to develop their talents and abilities."
• Education and training
  "North Carolinians have a right to a quality education. Our State must have an outstanding educational system in order to produce an informed community, to promote economic development, and to build for an economic future characterized by high-skill, high-wage employment."
• Efficient and ethical government
  "We believe that the mission of government is to expand opportunity - not bureaucracy - for our culturally and ethnically diverse population. Democrats have demonstrated that government can be both responsive and responsible."
• Environment
  "We recommit ourselves to the wise stewardship and protection of our air, water, soil, forests, wetlands, watersheds, barrier islands, and ridgetops. We promote the research and implementation of alternative, sustainable, and renewable energy solutions."
• Fair and open elections and a strong party
  "As the party of inclusion we recommit ourselves to a North Carolina Democratic Party that is open to all people. We believe the principles and goals of our party are more important than personalities or primary election disagreements."
• Foreign policy
  "We support increased diplomatic and cooperative measures by the United States government to ensure peaceful solutions to international problems by – but not limited to – participation in the International Criminal Court and the Kyoto Accords, and the full funding of our financial contributions to the United Nations, especially humanitarian endeavors."
• Health and human services
  "We recognize that every person is entitled to basic health care, regardless of income or geographic location."
• Heritage and culture
  "The North Carolina Democratic Party recognizes the importance of cultural development in the growth of our State. We are proud of all of our State’s diverse cultures and heritages that have contributed to our rich history and continue those contributions to society today."
• Housing
  "Safe, decent, and affordable housing for all persons is essential to the future of our communities and families."
• Human rights
  "We reaffirm our commitment to the full and equal protection of the lives, liberties, rights, and properties of all citizens and residents of North Carolina. All human beings deserve the opportunity to realize their own potential."
• Immigration
  "We are a nation of immigrants. We have consistently fought for the rights of working immigrants."
• Labor and employment
  "The North Carolina Democratic Party is the party of North Carolina's working people. We understand that meaningful employment at a living wage is critical to the personal security and self-esteem of the people of our State."
• Paying for progress
  "Government services are not free. We believe that all taxes - especially those that fall hardest on middle-class and poor families - should be kept as low as is possible, consistent with the maintenance of an appropriate level of government services."
• Seniors
  "We believe that seniors should enjoy independence and economic security in recognition of their many contributions to society."
• Security and law enforcement
  "We believe the best way to defend our home is to be prepared, and that North Carolina should have safeguards in place to protect from attacks and to be adequately prepared for natural disasters."
• Veterans, armed forces and their families
  "We stand in support of protecting our nation and State. We recognize that freedom does not come without a price, and many members of the Armed Forces - our active duty, reservists and National Guard - from this great State have made the ultimate sacrifice."

Rules and bylaws

Candidate ballot access
Find detailed information on ballot access requirements in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

See also: Rules of the North Carolina Democratic Party

The state party is governed by a set of rules and bylaws. Typically, these give structure to the different levels of organization—local, county, and state committees—and establish protocol for electing committee members. The bylaws also typically give details on the party's process for nominating and sending delegates to the national party convention during presidential elections. The following is a selection of the North Carolina Democratic Party's rules. This selection focuses on the structure and governance of the party:

• The presidents of the duly organized and chartered county chapters of state auxiliary organizations. The respective presidents of the state auxiliary organizations shall determine those duly organized auxiliary organizations within a county and certify the name of the county auxiliary organization president to the state chair. State Party Headquarters shall provide the county chair with the name of the presidents of duly organized county chapters of state auxiliary organizations within their county. Should a precinct chair or vice chair be elected as president of an auxiliary organization, some other member of said organization shall be certified as the representative of that organization on the county executive committee. In addition, the county Teen Dem advisor shall be a member of the county executive committee and equally share the vote of that organization with the county Teen Dem president unless the county executive committee authorizes an additional vote. (2.01.3)
• The county executive committee shall have as officers a chair, three (3) vice chairs, a secretary and a treasurer. The first vice chair must be of the opposite gender of the chair. Among the chair and three (3) vice chair offices, one (1) of these must be filled by a person of a racial or ethnic minority which constitutes at least twenty percent (20%) of the registered Democrats in that county and one of these offices must be filled by a person thirty- six (36) years of age or younger. Officers of a county executive committee shall be active Democrats residing within the county. No two (2) county officers may be from the same immediate family residing in the same household. Gender, racial or ethnic, and age requirements need not be followed if filling a vacancy for an unexpired term, but shall be adhered to when the office is filled for a full term. (2.03)
• The county chair shall call a meeting of the county executive committee and, after consultation with the precinct chairs, submit three (3) names of active Democrats as his or her recommendations for confirmation by the county executive committee. Only when such recommendations shall be confirmed by a majority of the county executive committee members present and voting shall the recommendation be submitted to the state chair. If the county executive committee refuses to confirm a person recommended by the county chair, then the floor shall be open for nominations for that position. Only when a nominee has received a majority vote of the county executive committee members present and voting shall the recommended name be submitted to the state chair. The time frame for the county executive committee to meet to act on these recommendations, the deadline for submitting recommendations to the state chair, and the manner by which such recommendations shall be submitted to the state chair shall be determined and set forth by the state chair. (2.06)

Convention

The 2016 state convention for the North Carolina Democratic Party, when the party selected its delegates for the Democratic National Convention, took place on June 11, 2016.

National convention delegate allocation, 2016

See also: 2016 presidential nominations: calendar and delegate rules

Hover over the terms below to display definitions.

Ballot access laws

Primary election

Caucus

Delegate

A political party formally nominates its presidential candidate at a national nominating convention. At this convention, state delegates select the party's nominee. Prior to the nominating convention, the states conduct presidential preference primaries or caucuses. Generally speaking, only state-recognized parties — such as the Democratic Party and the Republican Party — conduct primaries and caucuses. These elections measure voter preference for the various candidates and help determine which delegates will be sent to the national nominating convention.

The Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee, the governing bodies of the nation's two major parties, establish their own guidelines for the presidential nomination process. State-level affiliates of the parties also have some say in determining rules and provisions in their own states. Individuals interested in learning more about the nomination process should contact the political parties themselves for full details.

North Carolina had 120 delegates at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Of this total, 107 were pledged delegates. National party rules stipulated how Democratic delegates in all states were allocated. Pledged delegates were allocated to a candidate in proportion to the votes he or she received in a state's primary or caucus. A candidate was eligible to receive a share of the state's pledged delegates if he or she won at least 15 percent of the votes cast in the primary or caucus. There were three types of pledged Democratic delegates: congressional district delegates, at-large delegates, and party leaders and elected officials (PLEOs). Congressional district delegates were allocated proportionally based on the primary or caucus results in a given district. At-large and PLEO delegates were allocated proportionally based on statewide primary results.

Thirteen party leaders and elected officials served as unpledged delegates. These delegates were not required to adhere to the results of a state's primary or caucus.

Leadership

As of June 2017, the executive director of the North Carolina Democratic Party was Kimberly Reynolds.

The website for the North Carolina Democratic Party lists the following individuals as the party's state leadership as of June 2017:

• Wayne Goodwin, Chair
• Aisha Dew, First vice chair
• Matt Hughes, Second vice chair
• Nida Allam, Third vice chair
• Melvin Williams, Secretary
• Anna Tilghman, Treasurer

State political party revenue

See also: State political party revenue and State political party revenue per capita

The Democratic Party and the Republican Party maintain state affiliates in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and select U.S. territories. The following maps display total state political party revenue per capita for the Democratic and Republican state party affiliates from 2011 to 2016. The blue map displays Democratic state parties and the red map displays Republican state parties. Click on a state below to view the state party's revenue per capita totals:

Total Democratic and Republican state political party revenue per capita in the United States, 2011-2016

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'North Carolina Democratic Party'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Democratic Party of North Carolina - Google News

See also

• Democratic Party
• North Carolina

External links

• North Carolina Democratic Party Website
• North Carolina Democratic Party on Facebook
• North Carolina Democratic Party on Twitter