Yellow dog Democrat
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Yellow Dog Democrats were voters in the southern region of the United States who consistently voted for Democratic candidates in the late 19th and early 20th centuries because of lingering resentment against the Republicans dating back to the Civil War and Reconstruction period. The term arose from an apocryphal remark that a Southerner would vote for a yellow dog before he'd vote for a Republican.
The term gained national prominence during the 1928 presidential campaign when many Southern voters disliked many of the items on Democratic candidate Al Smith's platform but voted for him regardless.
See also: iron vote, boll weevil (politics), Blue Dog Democrats, swing voter, third wayTemplate:Poli-stub