Willimantic is a small town located in eastern Connecticut, with a population of 17,737 as of 2019. It is well known for its historic downtown area and the annual Windham International Festival. Politics in Willimantic are typically shaped by local initiatives and issues that directly affect the people within the town. In recent years, political issues have been focused on improving community infrastructure and services such as schools and parks, updating zoning regulations and building codes to meet current needs, and protecting natural resources. The local political scene is largely represented by the Democratic party with several candidates running for office at the local level each election cycle. Some notable names include Justin Anderson, a Democrat from Willimantic who currently serves as Senator of Connecticut's 19th District; Meg Szalewicz, a longtime resident of Willimantic who has served on both Town Council and Board of Education; and William Hickey, Jr., a long-time resident who has served on Town Council from 2014-2017. These candidates strive to ensure that their constituents' voices are heard at the local level through their involvement in policymaking decisions.
The political climate in Willimantic, CT is leaning liberal.
Windham County, CT is leaning conservative. In Windham County, CT 46.8% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 51.1% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.2% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Windham county remained Republican, 51.1% to 46.8%.
Windham county voted Republican in the two most recent Presidential elections, after voting Democratic in the previous four.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Willimantic, CT is leaning liberal.
Windham County, Connecticut is leaning conservative.
Worcester Metro Area is somewhat liberal.
Connecticut 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.
Willimantic, Connecticut: D d D D 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 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 Willimantic, CT
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 766 contributions totaling $52,017 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $68 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 24 contributions totaling $2,933 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $122 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)