Swarthmore, PA is a small town located in the southeastern corner of Pennsylvania. It has a population of approximately 6,300 people and is known for its vibrant and diverse community. The political landscape of Swarthmore is very active and engaged. Every two years elections are held for the mayor and four council members who serve on the Borough Council. These officials are responsible for ensuring that residents’ needs are being met, while also maintaining a strong fiscal responsibility to ensure taxes remain low. A few local political organizations have formed to advocate for issues such as environmental protection, youth services, public transportation and infrastructure improvements. Residents can take part in these organizations to make sure their voices are heard on important matters concerning their community. Swarthmore also offers numerous opportunities for civic engagement by providing resources such as community forums, volunteer programs, and educational events. Through these efforts Swarthmore continues to be an engaged and dynamic community that puts the needs of its citizens first.
The political climate in Swarthmore, PA is moderately liberal.
Delaware County, PA is strongly liberal. In Delaware County, PA 62.8% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 36.0% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.2% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Delaware county remained overwhelmingly Democratic, 62.8% to 36.0%.
Delaware county voted Democratic in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Swarthmore, PA is moderately liberal.
Delaware County, Pennsylvania is strongly liberal.
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington Metro Area is strongly liberal.
Pennsylvania is leaning liberal.
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.
Swarthmore, Pennsylvania: D D 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 Swarthmore, PA
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 5,364 contributions totaling $500,592 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $93 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 540 contributions totaling $89,655 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $166 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)