Winnebago County, Illinois is a politically active area with strong opinions on both sides of the aisle. Located in northern Illinois, the county is home to many political organizations and individuals who are deeply engaged in local and state-wide politics. Winnebago County has seen a surge of energy within its electorate over the past decade. In 2016, Winnebago County was one of the most engaged counties in the state when it came to voting for president. With voter turnout higher than usual, interest across the county has remained high since then. Local candidates from both parties have actively campaigned throughout the county and participate in community events to meet with their constituents and get their messages out. There are a variety of local issues that continue to be debated, from health care to taxes, education funding and more. The citizens of Winnebago County have a clear voice when it comes to speaking up for what they believe is right for their community.
The political climate in Winnebago County, IL is leaning liberal.
In Winnebago County, IL 50.0% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 47.5% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.5% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Winnebago county remained narrowly Democratic, 50.0% to 47.5%.
Winnebago county voted Democratic in the four most recent Presidential elections, after 2000 and 2004 went Republican.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Winnebago County, IL is leaning liberal.
Rockford Metro Area is leaning conservative.
Illinois 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.
Winnebago, Illinois: r r 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 for the Democrat and I for the Independent. 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 Winnebago County, IL
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 7,441 contributions totaling $707,221 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $95 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 2,314 contributions totaling $504,137 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $218 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)