Being a Democrat in Alabama wasn’t always taboo. They held a majority in state government for more than a century. But that changed in 2010 when they lost those seats to Republicans. In one of the state’s most conservative counties, Democrats are working on getting their groove back.
“We have to get Democrats to come out of the closet,” says Carole Marks, chair of the Shelby County Democratic Executive Committee. Marks and her colleagues want Alabama Democrats not to be afraid of showing their true, blue colors.
She says she often meets voters who don’t want to admit they’re Democrats. When she talks to people about voting, “I ask them what is their party affiliation and they tell me they are undecided,” she says. “So I tell them when you register to vote, you have to declare a party, and then they whisper, ‘I’m declaring Democrat.’ Why whisper?”
Other Democrats say remaining silent is more about maintaining healthy relationships.
“I’m married to a Republican,” says Democrat Liesl Harris. “I’ve just kind of learned not to talk about politics a lot. I’m not gonna change any minds and I just don’t want to be in arguments with my friends, so we just agree not to talk about it,” she says.
And that could be a good strategy, at least socially, for outnumbered Democrats. They hold just 41 of 140 total seats in the Alabama Legislature and just one at the federal level. But they are trying to change that. The key to future Democratic success starts with public engagement, they say.
“We have to start in the church,” says Pastor Kenneth Dukes at a meeting of the Shelby County Democratic Executive Committee. “We have to start in the community. We have to go to where they are. Wherever they may be. If they’re at the park, take it to the park. If they’re at the casino, take it to the casino.”
Other Democrats agree that a grass-roots effort could reignite the party. And, with the presidency and U.S. congressional seats on the line in 2016, Alabama Democrats are hanging their hopes on national candidates, too.