Runnells, IA is a small rural town located in Polk County. Politics in the area are often dominated by local issues that directly affect the people living in Runnells. The majority of residents in Runnells are registered with one of the two major parties, and they value candidates who have a clear understanding of the issues affecting their town. Local elections typically feature a lively debate between both Democratic and Republican candidates about how to best address the needs of those living in Runnells. Candidates often focus on issues such as education, economic development, and public safety when advocating for change within their community. While some residents may not necessarily agree on all these points, they all understand that having strong leaders with good ideas is what is best for the future of Runnells.
The political climate in Runnells, IA is leaning conservative.
Polk County, IA is somewhat liberal. In Polk County, IA 56.5% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 41.3% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.2% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Polk county remained very strongly Democratic, 56.5% to 41.3%.
Polk county voted Democratic in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Runnells, IA is leaning conservative.
Polk County, Iowa is somewhat liberal.
Des Moines-West Des Moines Metro Area is somewhat liberal.
Iowa 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.
Runnells, Iowa: 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 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 Runnells, IA
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 78 contributions totaling $3,987 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $51 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 20 contributions totaling $2,150 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $108 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)