The politics of the Duluth, MN Metro Area are shaped by its vibrant community and rich history. The area is home to a diverse population with both rural and urban communities represented. The Minnesota State Legislature provides representation for the region in both the House and Senate, while local government is in charge of the everyday operations of the cities and towns. The city of Duluth itself has a mayor-council system of governance with a nonpartisan election, while the county operates under a County Board of Commissioners that have been elected on a partisan basis since 1871. Voter turnout for elections within the region has been high in recent years and there have been several initiatives to increase voter participation throughout the area. There are also numerous civic organizations that work to advocate for issues important to their constituents, including environmental protection, economic opportunity, health care access, as well as social justice initiatives. With so many voices from across the region actively engaged in politics, it’s no wonder that Duluth’s political landscape is unique and continuously changing.
The political climate in Duluth Metro Area is somewhat liberal.
In Duluth Metro Area 55.2% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 42.4% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.3% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, the Duluth metro area remained strongly Democratic, 55.2% to 42.4%.
The Duluth metro area voted Democratic in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
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.
Duluth, 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 four elections.
Individual Campaign Contributions in Duluth Metro Area
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 11,575 contributions totaling $817,782 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $71 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 2,644 contributions totaling $759,201 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $287 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)