Democratic Party (United States)

=== Liberals ===
{{see also|Modern liberalism in the United States}}
[[File:Eleanor Roosevelt at the Democratic Nationall Convention in Chicago, Illinois - NARA - 195997.jpg|thumb|left|[[Eleanor Roosevelt]] at the [[1956 Democratic National Convention]] in Chicago]]
[[Social liberalism|Social liberals]] ([[Modern liberalism in the United States|modern liberals]]) are a large portion of the Democratic base. According to 2018 exit polls, liberals constituted 27% of the electorate, and 91% of American liberals favored the candidate of the Democratic Party.<ref name="2018e">{{cite web |title=Exit Polls |url=https://www.cnn.com/election/2018/exit-polls |website=CNN Politics |access-date=July 4, 2020 |archive-date=November 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181114225635/https://www.cnn.com/election/2018/exit-polls |url-status=live}}</ref> [[White-collar worker|White-collar]] college-educated professionals were mostly Republican until the 1950s, but they had become a vital component of the Democratic Party by the early 2000s.<ref name="Judis, B. J. (July 11, 2003). The trouble with Howard Dean. ''Salon.com''.">{{cite web|last=Judis|first=John B.|title=The trouble with Howard Dean|work=Salon|publisher=Salon.com|url=http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2003/07/11/dean/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120921000516/http://www.salon.com/2003/07/11/dean_15/|archive-date=September 21, 2012|date=July 11, 2003|access-date=July 19, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>

A large majority of liberals favor moving toward [[universal health care]], with many supporting an eventual gradual transition to a [[single-payer health care|single-payer system]] in particular. A majority also favor diplomacy over [[war|military action]]; [[stem cell|stem cell research]], [[same-sex marriage in the United States|same-sex marriage]], stricter [[Gun politics in the United States|gun control]], environmental protection laws, as well as the preservation of [[pro-choice|abortion rights]]. Immigration and [[cultural diversity]] are deemed positive as liberals favor [[cultural pluralism]], a system in which immigrants retain their native culture in addition to adopting their new culture. Most liberals oppose increased military spending and the mixing of church and state.<ref name="Pew Research Center.">{{cite web|url=http://people-press.org/2005/05/10/beyond-red-vs-blue/|title=Pew Research Center. (May 10, 2005). Beyond Red vs. Blue, p. 1 of 8|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120731155950/http://www.people-press.org/2005/05/10/beyond-red-vs-blue/|archive-date=July 31, 2012|access-date=July 12, 2007|url-status=dead |date=May 10, 2005}}</ref> They tend to be divided on [[United States free trade agreements|free trade agreements]] such as the [[USMCA]] and [[Permanent Normal Trade Relations|PNTR]] with China, with some seeing them as more favorable to corporations than workers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/2/18/18215442/2020-democratic-presidential-candidates-policies-trade|work=Vox|publisher=Vox.com|title=The big divide among 2020 Democrats over trade — and why it matters|date=February 18, 2019|access-date=May 10, 2019|archive-date=May 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508165656/https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/2/18/18215442/2020-democratic-presidential-candidates-policies-trade|url-status=live}}</ref> As of 2020, the three most significant labor groupings in the Democratic coalition were the [[AFL–CIO]] and [[Change to Win Federation|Change to Win]] [[National trade union center|labor federations]] as well as the [[National Education Association]], a large, unaffiliated teachers' union. Important issues for labor unions include supporting [[industrial policy]] that sustains unionized manufacturing jobs, raising the [[minimum wage in the United States|minimum wage]], and promoting broad social programs such as [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]] and [[Medicare (United States)|Medicare]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lipka |first1=Michael |last2=Smith |first2=Gregory A. |date=January 31, 2020 |title=Among Democrats, Christians lean toward Biden, while 'nones' prefer Sanders |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/01/31/among-democrats-christians-lean-toward-biden-while-nones-prefer-sanders/ |access-date=November 16, 2020 |website=[[Pew Research Center]] |archive-date=February 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211092938/https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/01/31/among-democrats-christians-lean-toward-biden-while-nones-prefer-sanders/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

This ideological group differs from the traditional organized labor base. According to the [[Pew Research Center]], a plurality of 41% resided in [[mass affluent]] households and 49% were college graduates, the highest figure of any typographical group. It was also the fastest growing typological group since the late 1990s to the present.<ref name="Pew Research Center."/> Liberals include most of academia<ref name="Kurtz, H. (March 29, 2005). College Faculties A Most Liberal Lot, Study Finds. ''The Washington Post''.">{{cite news|title=College Faculties A Most Liberal Lot, Study Finds|last=Kurtz|first=Howard|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8427-2005Mar28.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|agency=Washingtonpost.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120604090510/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8427-2005Mar28.html|archive-date=June 4, 2012|access-date=July 2, 2007|date=March 29, 2005|url-status=dead}}</ref> and large portions of the professional class.<ref name="Levitz-2022">{{Cite web |last=Levitz |first=Eric |date=October 19, 2022 |title=How the Diploma Divide Is Remaking American Politics |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/10/education-polarization-diploma-divide-democratic-party-working-class.html |access-date=October 21, 2022 |website=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |language=en-us |quote=Blue America is an increasingly wealthy and well-educated place. Throughout the second half of the 20th century, Americans without college degrees were more likely than university graduates to vote Democratic. But that gap began narrowing in the late 1960s before finally flipping in 2004... A more educated Democratic coalition is, naturally, a more affluent one... In every presidential election from 1948 to 2012, white voters in the top 5 percent of America's income distribution were more Republican than those in the bottom 95 percent. Now, the opposite is true: Among America's white majority, the rich voted to the left of the middle class and the poor in 2016 and 2020, while the poor voted to the right of the middle class and the rich. |archive-date=October 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221020215535/https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/10/education-polarization-diploma-divide-democratic-party-working-class.html |url-status=live }}</ref>