Reading, PA is a small city located in southeastern Pennsylvania. The politics of Reading are shaped by both the local and state level. At the local level, Reading holds a non-partisan mayoral election every four years, along with several other elected positions. In addition to the mayor's office, residents can also vote for City Council and School Board members. On the state level, residents of Reading are represented in both the Senate and House of Representatives. All representatives are chosen during statewide elections, which usually occur in November of even-numbered years. Overall, Reading's politics are determined by both local and state officials who work together to ensure the best outcomes for residents and visitors alike.
The political climate in Reading, PA is leaning liberal.
Berks County, PA is leaning conservative. In Berks County, PA 45.1% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 53.2% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.7% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Berks county remained moderately Republican, 53.2% to 45.1%.
Berks county voted Republican in five of the last six Presidential elections (2008 went Democratic).
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Reading, PA is leaning liberal.
Berks County, Pennsylvania is leaning conservative.
Reading Metro Area is leaning conservative.
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.
Reading, Pennsylvania: 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 Reading, PA
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 4,660 contributions totaling $546,901 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $117 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 1,872 contributions totaling $703,637 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $376 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)