New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. Located on the coast of Buzzards Bay, it has a rich history and culture. In recent years its politics have shifted significantly with increased focus on environmental issues and economic growth. The city government is made up of an elected mayor and nine-member City Council, all of whom are dedicated to serving the city's citizens and working towards greater economic prosperity, improved public safety, infrastructure improvements, and sustainability initiatives. Recent efforts have included investing in renewable energy infrastructure and creating green job opportunities for residents. New Bedford also encourages civic engagement by hosting community forums and town hall meetings for residents to voice their perspectives on important local topics. With a commitment to social justice issues such as LGBTQ+ rights, racial equity efforts, and criminal justice reform, New Bedford is working hard to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive in this vibrant community.
The political climate in New Bedford, MA is somewhat liberal.
Bristol County, MA is somewhat liberal. In Bristol County, MA 54.9% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 42.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.2% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Bristol county remained strongly Democratic, 54.9% to 42.9%.
Bristol county voted Democratic in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
New Bedford, MA is somewhat liberal.
Bristol County, Massachusetts is somewhat liberal.
Providence-Warwick Metro Area is moderately liberal.
Massachusetts is very 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.
New Bedford, Massachusetts: 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 New Bedford, MA
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 4,672 contributions totaling $401,668 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $86 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 788 contributions totaling $108,794 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $138 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)