The politics in the Athens, OH Metro Area are shaped by local and state government offices. Local government is represented by the Athens City Council and Athens County Commissioners. The Ohio State Legislature provides legislative representation for the people of Athens at the state level. Each election cycle, residents have the opportunity to choose candidates from various parties who represent their views. In addition, many other elected officials make decisions that impact the county, such as judges, mayors, law enforcement officers, and school board members. Residents also have a say in local referendums and ballot initiatives that may affect taxes or policies in the area. With so many different forms of political representation available in Athens, it is easy to see why it is essential to stay informed on current events and actively participate in elections.
The political climate in Athens Metro Area is somewhat liberal.
In Athens Metro Area 56.6% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 41.6% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.9% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, the Athens metro area remained strongly Democratic, 56.6% to 41.6%.
The Athens metro area voted Democratic in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Athens Metro Area is somewhat liberal.
Ohio is leaning 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.
Athens, Ohio: 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 Athens Metro Area
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 5,841 contributions totaling $496,973 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $85 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 384 contributions totaling $67,250 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $175 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)