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Dixiecrat Party

Formally the States' Rights Democratic Party

When the Democratic Party adopted a platform in 1948 that included strong support for civil rights, a number of Southern Democrats bolted from the main party and nominated Strom Thurmond of South Carolina as their candidate for President of the United States, with Fielding L. Wright as their candidate for vice-president. They carried four southern states, but the election went to Harry S Truman anyway. In 1952, the dissidents returned to the main party. After the Republican Party nominated [bg] in 1964, Thurmond switched to the GOP, which he has represented in the United States Senate ever since.