Independent Democrat

Woodworth won the 1848 Chicago mayoral election against Democrat James Curtiss with 59% of the vote.

[24][25] Andrew Jackson Hamilton of Texas briefly served in the U.S. House of Representatives as an independent Democrat.

[26] Strom Thurmond of South Carolina was elected to the United States Senate in 1954 and served as an independent Democrat in the 84th Congress until his resignation on April 4, 1956.

[30] David Orr, who served as Mayor of Chicago briefly in 1987, entered politics as an independent Democrat.

[34][35] Four members of the New York State Senate–Jeffrey Klein, Diane Savino, David Valesky, and David Carlucci–indicated they would form a similarly designated caucus separate from the Democratic conference in 2011, known as the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC).

[36] In April 2018, the IDC announced they would dissolve and following the primary defeat of six of the eight members in the 2018 elections, returning the New York State Senate to Democratic control in 2019.

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the longest-serving independent politician in congressional history, was initially denied caucus membership by the Democratic Party, however he eventually caucused with the party in both the U.S House of Representatives and the U.S.

Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona was elected as a Democrat in 2018, switching her affiliation to Independent in December 2022, effective upon commencement of the 118th Congress.

Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia was elected as a conservative Democrat in 2010, and re-elected to subsequent terms in 2012 and 2018.