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Currently, there are two major political parties that dominate American politics: the Democratic party and the Republican party. A Democrat identifies with the centrist-to-left wing ideals of the Democratic party, while a Republican identifies with the centrist-to-right wing ideals of the Republican party. While an individual voter may not agree with every position taken by his or her chosen political party, a Democrat tends to believe in a progressive social agenda, workers' rights, diplomacy over military action, and a clear separation between church and state.

Members of the Democratic party may identify themselves as politically or socially conservative, moderate or liberal. Historically, the party has appealed to academics and professionals with progressive to liberal leanings, although there is a faction of so-called "Blue Dog" Democrats who espouse political conservatism while endorsing socially progressive programs. Many of these conservatives are from Southern states that have recently moved to the political right.

The Democratic party has also aligned itself with the plight of minority populations and the economically challenged. Members generally believe that the federal and state governments have an obligation to provide essential services for citizens in need, as well as legal recognition and protection for oppressed or poorly represented minority groups. Social Security, public welfare, and food stamp programs are the direct result of Democratic presidencies.

A Democrat may also strongly support the needs and rights of workers over the demands of management. Establishing a federal minimum wage was accomplished during Democratic president Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration, for example. Many labor unions gained strength during this party's administrations as well. The Civil Right Act of 1965 was enacted during Democratic president Lyndon B. Johnson's time in office. Democratic president Bill Clinton also signed a law allowing workers to take unpaid leaves of absence during times of family need.

Many people who consider themselves part of this group also support the idea of universal health care for all citizens, a concept that led to the development of Medicaid and Medicare. A woman's right to choices about her own reproductive health is also a platform for the Democratic party, which was tested most notably during the Supreme Court case Roe vs Wade. The controversial right to seek out a legal abortion continues to be a source of strong disagreement between the Democratic and Republican parties. Another divisive issue is the use of capital punishment, with many Democrats believe should be abolished entirely, or at least severely restricted.

A member of the Democratic party is free to form his or her own opinion on the party's general political stances or candidates, as is a member of the Republican party. The national parties, however, do hold primaries and caucuses to determine the political candidates who best represent the ideals of the parties as a whole. A registered Democrat votes for the candidate who best represent his or her own political viewpoint, and the winners become the official candidates of the party.

Some politically active Democratic party members may become delegates to the national convention or even receive appointments to higher office if a Democratic candidate wins the election. He or she can also assist with grassroots lobbying efforts or work on a favored candidate's election campaign.

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What is a Democrat? (with pictures) - Historical Index

WASHINGTON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Barack Obama will campaign for Democratic Party candidates in Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin later this month ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm elections that will determine control of the U.S. Congress.

Obama will stump for candidates for federal and state offices, appearing in Atlanta on Oct. 28 before traveling to Detroit and Milwaukee on Oct. 29, his office said on Saturday.

Republicans are seen winning control of the U.S. House of Representatives and possibly the U.S. Senate as well. Several Republicans who want to upend the way votes are cast and counted are also running for top election administrator offices in their states.

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Obama will tell voters that Democrats are the party for protecting abortion rights but a main theme in his appearances will also be that Democrats can be better trusted to keep elections fair, with the next presidential contest slated for 2024.

"He looks forward to stumping for candidates up and down the ballot, especially in races and states that will have consequences for the administration of 2024 elections," Obama's office said in a statement, which was issued as President Joe Biden, a fellow Democrat, was set to appear at a rally in Portland supporting the party's candidates.

Former President Donald Trump, a Republican, is also holding campaign events to support Republicans, with the rallies featuring speeches in which he has repeatedly hinted he might run for president again in 2024.

Trump has falsely claimed fraud marred the results of the 2020 presidential election, which Biden won.

Republicans who back Trump's false claim have become their party's nominees for top election officials in states that could play decisive roles in the 2024 contest.

Republicans Jim Marchant of Nevada and Mark Finchem of Arizona, for example, want to curtail or abolish early voting, mail-in voting and ballot drop-boxes, claiming without evidence that they breed fraud.

Voting groups are concerned that the election of some far right candidates could threaten the integrity of the next presidential election. There are fears some might help Trump - if he decides to run again - or another like-minded Republican to overturn election results in 2024.

In an interview on a podcast released on Saturday, Obama said Democrats might not be able to trust that U.S. courts will keep elections fair. That means Democrats must hold offices in closely-contested states to ensure the results of elections will be respected, he said.

"Because it may turn out that in a close presidential election at some point, certification of an election in a key swing state may be at issue. And, it's going to be really important that we have people there who play it straight."

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Reporting By Lucia Mutikani and Jason Lange; editing by Grant McCool

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Obama to stump for Democrats in three states ahead of high-stakes Nov. 8 election - Reuters

PORTLAND, Ore. President Joe Biden at a community center here Saturday promoted Democrats efforts to bring down health care costs, in a visit to a normally Democratic state, three weeks before midterm elections that will determine control of Congress for the next two years.

Speaking on the first day of Medicare open enrollment, Biden touted a $750 billion climate, tax and health care package Democrats in Congress passed along party lines earlier this year. He gave particular attention to provisions to cap the price of insulin at $35 per month for Medicare patients and to allow federal programs to negotiate the prices of certain high-price drugs.

Middle-class families, he said, deserved the security of having additional spending money after paying monthly bills. And bringing down health care costs, he said, was key to providing that.

My dad used to say that everyone deserves a little bit of breathing room, Biden told roughly 200 supporters at the community center on the citys east side. Thats all this is about. You know, a lot of people dont have any breathing room. Its especially the case when it comes to health care and prescription drugs.

Democrats in Congress pushed for those provisions and voted unanimously for the bill, while all Republicans opposed it, Biden said.

The bills passage represented a rare victory over the pharmaceutical industry, he said.

This year, the American people won and, for the first time, Big Pharma lost, he said.

Costs for users of Medicaid and Medicare were set to decrease, while Social Security payments would rise, Biden said.

Bidens visit came as Oregons Democratic nominee for governor, Tina Kotek, struggles in an unexpectedly challenging election, the Oregon Capital Chronicle reported, against a nonaffiliated candidate, former Democratic state Sen. Betsy Johnson, and Republican Christine Drazan. Biden was scheduled to attend a $500-a-head reception for Kotek later Saturday before returning to the East Coast.

On Friday night, he took part in an event with Oregon Democrats where coverage was restricted to a press pool. The pool reported that he brought doughnuts and joined volunteers at a table to make calls to voters.

Democratic congressional candidates in the state also are facing tough races, though incumbent DemocraticSen. Ron Wydens seat is rated as solid for Democrats by the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter.

But in other races across the country, Bidens low approval ratings could portend a rough November for Democrats. In a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, 55% of respondents disapproved of his job while only 40% approved.

Republicans in Congress want to weaken Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security by requiring the programs be reauthorized annually or every few years, Biden told the crowd at the community center.

He singled out Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, who leads Senate Republicans campaign arm, and Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, who is in a close reelection race against Democrat Mandela Barnes.

Scott proposed a plan to put Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block every five years, Biden said. Well guess what, one guy thought it was too lenient, the guy the senator from Wisconsin named Johnson. He thinks it should be every year.

Democrats control both chambers of Congress by narrow margins, though the party faces strong headwinds in keeping its majorities. Close races in states including Georgia, Nevada, Ohio and Pennsylvania could tip the Senate toward either party, while most forecasters consider Republicans heavily favored to take the House despite insistence by leading Democrats that they could still keep control.

On Friday, Biden told local Democrats that continued progress for their agenda depended on keeping majorities in Congress, according to a White House transcript.

If we are able to keep the House and keep the Senate, we can continue to do the things weve been doing, which are really going to change the country, he said. Were at a real inflection point in this country. What happens in the next four to six years is going to determine what happens for the next three or four generations.

At the community center, Biden framed Democrats agenda as supporting the middle class, while saying Republican policies would favor the wealthy.

Ive never been a big fan of trickle-down economics, he said, referring to a longtime Republican policy of cutting corporate taxes in an effort to create jobs.

Biden also promoted a provision in the health care, taxes and climate bill that would set a corporate minimum tax at 15%. Top companies made $40 billion this year but didnt pay anything in taxes, he said, as the crowd jeered.

Bidens biggest applause line for an audience dotted with the purple of the Service Employees International Union, a large labor union representing workers in health care and other service industries, was a direct appeal to middle-class workers.

The middle class built this country, he said. And unions built the middle class.

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Biden pitches to the middle class as Democrats fight for support in advance of midterms - Nebraska Examiner

In a country changed by COVID, growing inflation, and culture wars, it should come as no surprise that a great alignment is taking place in politics, too. The Democrat party, long considered the party of the non-college-educated working middle class in America, has seen the GOP taking its place.

"The real rank and file Democrats on the ground, they're leaving their party in droves, because they said, this is unrecognizable. I never signed up for this. I didn't want record-high gas prices. I didn't want zero borders.I wanted a country I wanted, you know, a shot at the American dream. That's what I wanted. And they see that that's not what it's been about at all," said Liz Harrington, President Trump's spokesperson.

The slide has been dramatic. More than 60 years ago, JFK won the white voters without a degree by a two-to-one margin. In 2020, Joe Biden lost those same voters by a two-to-one margin, a total reversal.

The latest poll ahead of the midterms shows the same trend. The GOP holds an overwhelming 61-to-29 percent lead among the white working class. Even so-called middle-class champions like Bernie Sanders see the problem.

"The truth is that the middle class of this country is falling further and further behind. Wages are not keeping up with inflation," Sanders said.

Democrats are also starting to lose their grip on the reliable Hispanic vote. The latest NBC News/Telemundo poll shows that even though Hispanics still prefer Democrats 54 percent to 33 percent, that 21-point lead is lower than in the past. In election cycles over the last ten years, the lead has dwindled from a whopping 42 percent a decade ago to 26points in 2022.

Given the drop, analysts point to Democrats taking the Hispanic vote for granted, especially in these tough times. And pandering isn't helping.

Jessica Anderson is with Heritage Action for America.

"The Biden regime is completely out of touch and pandering to Hispanic voters instead of actually getting real about the issues that, just like you and I, everyone else in America that we actually care about. And so I think they're tired of being treated like a voting bloc, that it's a one size fits all rubber stamp for the Democratic Party. It is not that," Anderson said.

Cultural issues are also playing a role. Supporting abortion at any stage has turned off many pro-family Hispanic Catholic voters.

"You see the Democrats that are passing radical abortion laws in California and Colorado and New York that say that you can kill seven-pound babies right up to the point of birth. Youraverage, hard-working Hispanic, Catholic out there does not approve of that. YourAfrican American hard-working African Americans don't approve of that. That's a radical, extreme policy. And that's what the Democrat Party is pushing left and right," said Ted Harvey, a former Colorado state senator.

So while this political realignment is helping the GOP on one hand, it's also reshaping the Democrat party to a whiter, more elite party. An NBC News poll shows Democrats with a whopping 38-point lead among women with college degrees. That's up from 10 points in 2010. Polls show these more affluent Democrat voters care more about abortion, gun control, and climate change. It's a trend not lost on candidate Joe Biden when he chose clean energy over blue-collar jobs in a 2020 debate.

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Asked if, as president, he would be willing to sacrifice thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of blue-collar workers' jobs in the interest of transitioning to a greener economy, Biden replied, "The answer is yes."

Democratic strategists believe pursuing the Green New Deal and more progressive priorities will help the party with college-educated voters in key suburban battlegrounds. In this election cycle, however, where the economy is the most pressing issue, this political realignment could lead to a midterm derailment. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the middle class is rising up and pushing back.

"I think those people have all now concluded that a little bit of noise and a little bit of tumult is probably worth it in exchange for a simpler, better life and life where you can afford the things you want to do for your family where you don't have the progressive left attacking you at every moment. I think they can see that. So I think they're going to begin to vote for the party that's going to deliver a better life for their families," Pompeo said.

We get the realigned answers in just a few short weeks.

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'The Great Realignment': Democrats Leave Party in Droves, and What It Could Mean for GOP in November - CBN.com

Can someone living on nearly $400,000 a year relate to the average American scraping to get by amid skyrocketing inflation? Ohio Democrat Greg Landsman seems to think so.

During a debate earlier this month, Landsman, who is running in Ohios first district against Republican Rep. Steve Chabot, said the rising prices of gas and groceries has "been very frustrating" for him and his wife. But Landsmans household income, according to finance documents reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon, totaled more than $380,000.

Landsmans remarks were reminiscent of Michigan Democrat Hillary Scholten, who released an ad last month alleging that rising consumer prices mean she can no longer afford new shoes for her children. Scholten earned $200,000 last year as an immigration attorney.

The average household income for the district Landsman is running in was $62,488 in 2020. That means Landmans household income is more than six times the average.

The bulk of Landsmans family income comes from his wife, who makes $275,000 as an executive at a retail data company. Landsman himself made over $100,000 from his Cincinnati City Council salary, his personal business, and a nonprofit.

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This Democrat Living On Nearly $400,000 Is Frustrated By Inflation - Washington Free Beacon