The politics in Destin, FL are shaped by the city's diverse population and its proximity to other major cities in Florida. Destin is a part of Okaloosa County, which is represented at the local level by officials who are elected every four years from each district in the county. At the state level, Destin is represented by many different members of the Florida House and Senate. Residents of Destin can take part in politics on a local level by voting for their preferred candidates running for positions such as mayor, school board member, and councilmember. Additionally, there are plenty of opportunities for civic engagement with several organizations in the greater Destin area that offer ways to get involved with local issues and initiatives. All together, politics in Destin provide an excellent platform for citizens to make their voices heard and have a direct impact on the community.
The political climate in Destin, FL is moderately conservative.
Okaloosa County, FL is very conservative. In Okaloosa County, FL 29.3% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 68.4% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.3% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Okaloosa county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 68.4% to 29.3%.
Okaloosa county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Destin, FL is moderately conservative.
Okaloosa County, Florida is very conservative.
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin Metro Area is very conservative.
Florida 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.
Destin, Florida: R R R R 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 Destin, FL
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 733 contributions totaling $78,599 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $107 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 840 contributions totaling $373,805 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $445 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)