Waco, TX is a large city located in Central Texas with a diverse population. Politically, Waco is an important area of the state and has elected many influential leaders throughout its history. In recent years, the city has seen its fair share of contentious political debates ranging from local taxes to healthcare regulations. The current mayor of Waco is Kyle Deaver, who was elected in 2019 after being appointed by his predecessor, Mayor Malcolm Duncan Jr. Other prominent local political figures include Waco City Council Member Sarah Oliver-Davila, Judge Mary Harris, Commissioner Joe Masher, and County Treasurer Eric Spisak. These leaders have all had a significant impact on the development of Waco and its people for many years. From advocating for greater economic opportunities to improving infrastructure, these leaders have helped shape the politics of Waco and made a difference in the lives of its citizens.
The political climate in Waco, TX is leaning conservative.
McLennan County, TX is moderately conservative. In McLennan County, TX 37.5% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 60.8% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.7% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, McLennan county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 60.8% to 37.5%.
McLennan county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Waco, TX is leaning conservative.
McLennan County, Texas is moderately conservative.
Waco Metro Area is strongly conservative.
Texas is leaning 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.
Waco, Texas: R R R 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 Waco, TX
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 6,487 contributions totaling $1,019,634 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $157 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 3,922 contributions totaling $958,796 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $244 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)