The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party.

It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world. Today, the party supports a liberal and/or center-left platform.

Since the 2008 general elections, the Democratic Party is the majority party for the 111th Congress; the party holds a majority in both the House of Representatives and the United States Senate.

Democrats also hold a majority of state governorships and control a majority of state legislatures. Barack Obama, the current President of the United States, is the 16th Democrat to hold that office.

Since the 1890s, the Democratic Party has favored "liberal" positions (the term "liberal" in this sense describes social liberalism, not classical liberalism).

In recent exit polls, the Democratic Party has had broad appeal across all socio-ethno-economic demographics.

The Democratic Party is currently the nation's largest party. In 2004, roughly 72 million (42.6%) Americans were registered Democrats, compared to 55 million (32.5%) Republicans and 42 million (24.8%) independents.[5]

Historically, the party has favored farmers, laborers, labor unions, and religious and ethnic minorities; it has opposed unregulated business and finance, and favored progressive income taxes.

In foreign policy, internationalism (including interventionism) was a dominant theme from 1913 to the mid-1960s. In the 1930s, the party began advocating welfare spending programs targeted at the poor.

The party had a pro-business wing, typified by Al Smith, and a Southern conservative wing that shrank after President Lyndon B. Johnson supported the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The major influences for liberalism were labor unions (which peaked in the 1936–1952 era), and the African American wing, which has steadily grown since the 1960s. Since the 1970s, environmentalism has been a major new component.

In recent decades, the party has adopted a centrist economic and more socially progressive and social democratic agenda, with the voter base having shifted considerably.

Today, Democrats advocate more social freedoms, affirmative action, balanced budget, and a free enterprise system tempered by government intervention (mixed economy).

The economic policy adopted by the modern Democratic Party, including the former Clinton administration, may also be referred to as the "Third Way".

The party believes that government should play a role in alleviating poverty and social injustice and use a system of progressive taxation.