Clifton, ME is a small rural town in the Midcoast region of Maine. Despite its size, the town is home to a vibrant political community that is engaged and passionate about issues facing their community. The main political parties represented are Democrats and Republicans, although independent candidates often appear on the ballots during elections. The citizens of Clifton are active in local politics and discuss matters ranging from taxation to environmental regulations in order to ensure their town remains a safe and prosperous place to live. During election season, Clifton residents come together to debate topics such as taxes, infrastructure projects, education reform and more. Local leaders regularly engage with residents through forums and meetings in order to discuss important issues and inform them of upcoming changes or initiatives. In short, Clifton’s politics are an integral part of the community that has allowed for effective representation of the citizens’ interests and needs.
The political climate in Clifton, ME is moderately conservative.
Penobscot County, ME is somewhat conservative. In Penobscot County, ME 44.2% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 52.6% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 3.2% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Penobscot county remained moderately Republican, 52.6% to 44.2%.
Penobscot county voted Republican again in 2020, after voting Democratic in 2012, 2008, and 2004.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Clifton, ME is moderately conservative.
Penobscot County, Maine is somewhat conservative.
Bangor Metro Area is somewhat conservative.
Maine is somewhat 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.
Clifton, Maine: r 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 Clifton, ME
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 64 contributions totaling $5,782 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $90 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 1 contributions totaling $100 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $100 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)