Rutherfordton, North Carolina is a small town located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It has a population of approximately 2,000 and a total area of only 1.1 square miles. Despite its size, the politics of Rutherfordton are quite diverse and vibrant. The town has four districts, each represented by their own Town Council Member. These Council Members meet regularly to discuss issues related to local government and services for the residents of Rutherfordton. The Mayor is elected every two years and leads the Town Council with assistance from two appointed Town Managers. Elections are held every two years in November for the four districts’ representatives and mayor. Every year, citizens have the opportunity to voice their opinions on laws, taxes, ordinances, budgets, and other important topics that affect their community. Residents also participate in various civic events such as parades, festivals, food drives, charity walks, etc., which are organized by local political groups and leaders in order to engage citizens in meaningful dialogue about current issues facing Rutherfordton. With an engaged citizenry ready to make their voices heard at elections or public forums, it's no wonder why politics in Rutherfordton remains vibrant and diverse!
The political climate in Rutherfordton, NC is moderately conservative.
Rutherford County, NC is very conservative. In Rutherford County, NC 26.5% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 72.3% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.2% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Rutherford county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 72.3% to 26.5%.
Rutherford county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Rutherfordton, NC is moderately conservative.
Rutherford County, North Carolina is very conservative.
Forest City Metro Area is very conservative.
North Carolina is leaning 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.
Rutherfordton, North Carolina: R R R R R R
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 Rutherfordton, NC
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 318 contributions totaling $35,082 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $110 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 329 contributions totaling $117,184 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $356 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)