Democratic Party (United States) most lasting impression came from the cartoons of Thomas Nast from 1870 in "Harper's Weekly". Cartoonists followed Nast and used the donkey to represent the Democrats and the elephant to represent the Republicans. In the early 20th century, the traditional symbol of the Democratic Party in Indiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Ohio was the rooster, as opposed to the Republican eagle. This symbol still appears on Oklahoma, Kentucky, Indiana, and West Virginia ballots. The rooster was adopted as the official symbol of the national Democratic Party. In New York, the Democratic ballot symbol is a five-pointed star. Although both major political
Democratic Party of Illinois Democratic Party of Illinois The Democratic Party of Illinois is the affiliate of the U.S. Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is the oldest extant state party in Illinois and, along Republican Parties, one of just two recognized parties in the state. The Democratic Party of Illinois took shape during the late 1830s. Prior to that time, Illinois did not have organized political parties; instead, political competition in the state was more personalist, with prominent factions centered on Governors Ninian Edwards and Shadrach Bond. As the Democratic and Whig Parties began to form at the national level