Carlton County, Minnesota is a largely rural county located in the northeastern part of the state. With a population of over 35,000 people, it is one of the most populous counties in the region. Although there is no official representation for Carlton County on the state level, the county does have an active local political scene. Every two years voters elect local officials to positions such as county commissioners, sheriffs and judges. Additionally, each town within Carlton County has its own local elections for mayor or city council members. There is also a vibrant civic engagement in Carlton County with many citizens taking an active role in politics by attending town meetings and voicing their opinions on issues that affect them. Additionally, numerous political organizations such as nonpartisan candidate forums and civic groups work to educate citizens about important topics and keep them up-to-date on key issues affecting their community. All in all, Carlton County's local political climate is vibrant and engaged.
The political climate in Carlton County, MN is leaning liberal.
In Carlton County, MN 49.6% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 48.1% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.4% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Carlton county remained narrowly Democratic, 49.6% to 48.1%.
Carlton county voted Democratic in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Carlton County, MN is leaning liberal.
Duluth Metro Area is somewhat liberal.
Minnesota 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.
Carlton, Minnesota: 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 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 Carlton County, MN
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 823 contributions totaling $60,803 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $74 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 192 contributions totaling $30,443 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $159 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)