Mattoon, IL is a city located in Coles County in east central Illinois. It has a rich history with many different political influences that have shaped the city today. The current mayor of Mattoon is Tim Gover, who was elected in 2013 and re-elected for a second term in 2017. The City Council of Mattoon consists of six members who are all elected to their positions every four years. Among the most notable political achievements in recent years was the passage of a citywide smoking ban that took effect on July 1, 2014. Additionally, Mattoon has taken part in several initiatives designed to promote economic growth such as tax incentives for businesses and infrastructure improvements. All these efforts have had a positive impact on the local economy and made life better for residents of Mattoon.
The political climate in Mattoon, IL is somewhat conservative.
Coles County, IL is strongly conservative. In Coles County, IL 35.6% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 61.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.5% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Coles county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 61.9% to 35.6%.
Coles county voted Republican in five of the last six Presidential elections (2008 went Democratic).
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Mattoon, IL is somewhat conservative.
Coles County, Illinois is strongly conservative.
Charleston-Mattoon Metro Area is very conservative.
Illinois 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.
Mattoon, Illinois: r R d 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 Mattoon, IL
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 372 contributions totaling $42,381 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $114 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 432 contributions totaling $59,247 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $137 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)