The South Bend-Mishawaka, IN Metro Area is a major political hub in the region, with numerous elected officials and candidates at both the local and federal level. The area has a vibrant and diverse community which allows for robust dialogue on issues ranging from education, housing affordability, economic development, and public safety. With so much at stake in the wider area, politicians in the metro area are often keenly aware of the needs and wants of their constituents. In 2020, local elections are taking place across multiple counties with numerous candidates vying for positions. These elections provide voters with an opportunity to influence change in their communities by choosing representatives who will fight for their interests. With so much on the line for South Bend-Mishawaka, IN Metro Area residents have an important role to play in where their communities are heading.
The political climate in South Bend-Mishawaka Metro Area is leaning liberal.
In South Bend-Mishawaka Metro Area 49.2% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 48.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.8% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, the South Bend-Mishawaka metro area flipped slightly Democratic, 49.2% to 48.9%.
The South Bend-Mishawaka metro area flipped Democratic in the most recent Presidential election (2000, 2004 and 2016 went Republican).
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
South Bend-Mishawaka Metro Area is leaning liberal.
Indiana is somewhat 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.
South Bend-Mishawaka, Indiana: r r D d r 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 four elections.
Individual Campaign Contributions in South Bend-Mishawaka Metro Area
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 14,042 contributions totaling $2,009,141 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $143 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 3,349 contributions totaling $2,901,701 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $866 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)