The Decatur, IL metro area is home to a diverse population of people with varying political views. The local politicians in the area come from a wide range of backgrounds and represent many different ideologies. The city's main governing body is the Macon County Board of Commissioners, which consists of nine commissioners who are elected by district. Additionally, there are several state representatives and senators from the area who are elected to serve in their respective chambers of the Illinois legislature. Beyond government representation, there are numerous organizations, such as the Decatur Chamber of Commerce and the Decatur Civic Center, that advocate for economic growth and support community initiatives in the city. With an engaged population that actively participates in politics, Decatur continues to be a vibrant and politically active city.
The political climate in Decatur Metro Area is moderately conservative.
In Decatur Metro Area 40.1% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 57.7% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.2% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, the Decatur metro area remained very strongly Republican, 57.7% to 40.1%.
The Decatur metro area voted Republican in 2020, 2016, 2012 and 2004, and Democratic in 2008 and 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Decatur Metro Area is moderately 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.
Decatur, Illinois: d 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 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 four elections.
Individual Campaign Contributions in Decatur Metro Area
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 1,758 contributions totaling $151,705 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $86 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 1,423 contributions totaling $349,417 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $246 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)