The city of Erie, PA has a thriving political atmosphere. With a current population of approximately 97,369, the city is home to many different opinions and perspectives on the current state of politics. From local elections to statewide offices, citizens are actively engaged in all levels of policy decisions and debates. In recent years, many candidates have come forward to run for office in Erie with a variety of backgrounds and experience. From lawyers and business owners to teachers and activists, these candidates are passionate about making positive changes for their communities. Residents take part in campaign events such as door-knocking or phone banking to support candidates they believe in and help spread awareness about their platforms. Through their hard work and dedication, these candidates are dedicated to bridging the divide between politics and people in Erie to ensure opportunities for everyone regardless of race or income level.
The political climate in Erie, PA is leaning liberal.
Erie County, PA is leaning liberal. In Erie County, PA 49.7% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 48.6% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.7% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Erie county flipped narrowly Democratic, 49.7% to 48.6%.
Erie county flipped back to Democratic in the most recent Presidential election, after voting Republican in 2016.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Erie, PA is leaning liberal.
Erie County, Pennsylvania is leaning liberal.
Erie Metro Area is leaning 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.
Erie, Pennsylvania: d d D D r 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 Erie, PA
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 3,500 contributions totaling $1,068,064 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $305 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 1,301 contributions totaling $462,415 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $355 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)