Benham, Kentucky is a small town located in Harlan County that has a population of around 500 people. It is an area steeped in a rich history and culture; its people are proud to call it home. The local politics of Benham center around the mayoral race and decisions made by the city council. Every two years, citizens gather together to vote for the mayor and members of the council who will represent their interests and manage the budget of the town. Each candidate brings a unique perspective on how best to serve its citizens and visitors alike, from creating jobs to preserving historical sites. During election season, passionate debates about the future of Benham can be heard throughout the town as citizens discuss their choices for mayor and city council.
The political climate in Benham, KY is moderately conservative.
Harlan County, KY is very conservative. In Harlan County, KY 13.6% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 85.4% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.0% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Harlan county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 85.4% to 13.6%.
Harlan county voted Republican in the last five Presidential elections, after voting Democratic in 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Benham, KY is moderately conservative.
Harlan County, Kentucky is very conservative.
Kentucky is strongly 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.
Benham, Kentucky: d 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 Benham, KY
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 29 contributions totaling $466 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $16 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 87 contributions totaling $2,857 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $33 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)