Ouray, Colorado is a small town located in the southwestern part of the state. It is known for its spectacular views of the San Juan Mountains and its cozy downtown area. The city has seen many changes over the years, but one thing that hasn't changed is politics in our community. Ouray has been represented by several local representatives in various capacities since it was first incorporated in 1903. Currently, the City Council consists of seven members who are elected by residents every two years. The Mayor and City Manager are chosen from among them and serve four-year terms. These elected officials work together to ensure that the needs of citizens are met by supporting local businesses, taking care of public works projects, and helping to keep Ouray clean and safe for all residents. They also strive to create a vision for Ouray's future growth as a vibrant mountain community with strong economic and educational opportunities for everyone who lives here.
The political climate in Ouray, CO is leaning liberal.
Ouray County, CO is moderately liberal. In Ouray County, CO 58.8% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 39.2% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.9% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Ouray county remained very strongly Democratic, 58.8% to 39.2%.
Ouray county voted Democratic in the four most recent Presidential elections, after 2000 and 2004 went Republican.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Ouray, CO is leaning liberal.
Ouray County, Colorado is moderately liberal.
Colorado is somewhat 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.
Ouray, Colorado: R r 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 if the Democratic Party candidate won and I if the Independent Party candidate won. 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 Ouray, CO
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 200 contributions totaling $20,436 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $102 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 54 contributions totaling $10,938 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $203 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)