Kelso, WA is a small city in the state of Washington with a population just shy of 11,000. The city is home to a variety of industries and businesses, making it an attractive destination for those looking to start or move their business. The political environment in Kelso is generally quite moderate; although there are some minor divisions between conservative and liberal voters, overall the city does not have any major political divides. Local candidates running for office are typically from the same political party and will focus on local issues such as improving transportation infrastructure or supporting small businesses. There are also many community organizations dedicated to civic engagement that help facilitate dialogue on important local issues.
The political climate in Kelso, WA is leaning conservative.
Cowlitz County, WA is moderately conservative. In Cowlitz County, WA 39.7% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 57.1% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 3.2% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Cowlitz county remained very strongly Republican, 57.1% to 39.7%.
Cowlitz county voted Republican in the two most recent Presidential elections, after voting Democratic in the previous four.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Kelso, WA is leaning conservative.
Cowlitz County, Washington is moderately conservative.
Longview Metro Area is moderately conservative.
Washington is moderately 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.
Kelso, Washington: d d D d 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 Kelso, WA
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 2,771 contributions totaling $192,968 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $70 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 950 contributions totaling $178,049 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $187 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)