The precise origins of the Democratic Party of Dane County, Wisconsin are not clear because no documentation from its early years is included in the records held by the Historical Society. A 1950 membership solicitation letter indicates that the organization was founded as the Dane County Democratic Club in June 1947 and that Carl Thompson was elected chairman. Its organization in order to unite liberals and raise funds for election campaigns was spurred by the death of the Progressive Party in 1946 and by Carl Thompson's loss as a Democrat in a special congressional election in April 1947. Many of the individuals active in the founding of the Dane county organization went on to be leaders in the formation of the state-wide Democratic Organizing Committee in 1948. In March 1949 the club became a chartered county unit of the DOC. The club was successful in absorbing many former Progressives who had long dominated county politics, and by 1950 the club boasted over 500 members and, with the exception of one office, had elected an entirely Democratic slate. In 1957 the club officially became known as the Democratic Party of Dane County.
Throughout its history the group has engaged in the activities typical of all local political organizations: membership drives, fundraising, education, and campaign support. However, it has been atypical in the degree to which its predominantly liberal philosophy has controlled state party platforms and policy. Indeed, columnist John Wyngaard called the Dane County Democrats the “intellectual power base of the Democratic Party.” In addition, the county has produced leaders such as Gaylord Nelson, William Proxmire, Patrick J. Lucey, David Carley, and Robert Kastenmeier. This intellectual leadership which contrasts with the much larger block of Democratic voters delivered by Milwaukee County has led to a traditional rivalry between the two counties for control of the party structure.
