Valley Springs, SD is a small town with a population of approximately 1,500. Its politics are largely shaped by local issues and the views of its citizens. Valley Springs has seen its share of both state and national elections, as many residents take part in their civic duty to vote. Local candidates for political office often come from within the community, representing the values that unite residents and build up the city. The current mayor is Bill Johnson who was elected in 2018 with a strong platform of economic growth and sustainability initiatives. The City Council consists of seven members who are charged with governing the city and allocating resources for its citizens. They focus on bringing together citizens to find common ground while also fostering communication between local government and their constituents. Valley Springs is known for being an engaged political community where conversations about change are encouraged and citizens are actively involved in deciding what’s best for their town.
The political climate in Valley Springs, SD is moderately conservative.
Minnehaha County, SD is somewhat conservative. In Minnehaha County, SD 43.8% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 53.3% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.8% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Minnehaha county remained moderately Republican, 53.3% to 43.8%.
Minnehaha county voted Republican in five of the last six Presidential elections (2008 went Democratic).
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Valley Springs, SD is moderately conservative.
Minnehaha County, South Dakota is somewhat conservative.
Sioux Falls Metro Area is somewhat conservative.
South Dakota is strongly 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.
Valley Springs, South Dakota: R R d 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 Valley Springs, SD
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 36 contributions totaling $1,170 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $33 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 19 contributions totaling $2,586 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $136 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)