South Bend, Indiana is a city of 102,245 people located in St. Joseph County in the northern part of the state. It is home to the University of Notre Dame, making it an important cultural and educational center in the region. South Bend has a strong political history and is currently represented by Mayor Pete Buttigieg and other city council members who are elected by the citizens every four years. The city government works to ensure economic prosperity, public safety measures, and quality services for its residents. In addition, South Bend invests in initiatives that improve community engagement and promote civic participation among all individuals living within its borders. Local politicians are also committed to social justice issues such as immigration reform and environmental protection. These efforts continue to make South Bend an attractive place for both residents and visitors alike.
The political climate in South Bend, IN is leaning liberal.
St. Joseph County, IN is leaning liberal. In St. Joseph County, IN 52.0% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 46.1% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.9% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, St. Joseph county remained moderately Democratic, 52.0% to 46.1%.
St. Joseph county voted Democratic in five of the last six Presidential elections (2004 went Republican).
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
South Bend, IN is leaning liberal.
St. Joseph County, Indiana is leaning liberal.
South Bend-Mishawaka Metro Area is leaning liberal.
Indiana is somewhat conservative.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index is based on recent voting in national elections, federal campaign contributions by local residents, and consumer personality profiles.
VoteWord™
Displaying 20 years of Presidential voting, visualized in one word.
South Bend, Indiana: d r D d d d
How It Works:
Here at BestPlaces, we were looking at the voting patterns since the 2000 election and realized that we could express the results of each election as one letter. R if the Republican Party candidate won, D if the Democratic Party candidate won and I if the Independent Party candidate won. The six elections (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020) would be expressed as six-letter word (R R D R R).
Then we went a little further and added the dimension of magnitude. If the difference of victory was greater than 10 percent, the letter is upper case, and lower case if the difference was less than 10 percent. This allows us to see interesting voting patterns at just a glance.
Here's the VoteWord for Iowa d r d d r. In the last six elections the state has been closely contested, voting narrowly for the Republican Party candidate in 2016 and 2020 after voting for the Democratic Party in 2008 and 2012. Virginia (r r d d d D) has voted for the Democratic Party in the last three elections.
Individual Campaign Contributions in South Bend, IN
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 14,321 contributions totaling $2,032,136 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $142 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 3,323 contributions totaling $2,172,957 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $654 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)