Leelanau, Michigan is a beautiful stretch of land located in the northwest corner of the state. It is home to picturesque villages and townships, an abundance of outdoor recreation opportunities, and a unique local culture. The politics of Leelanau County are largely decided by the Board of Commissioners, which consists of seven members who are elected from each township in the county. Each commissioner represents their respective township’s interests on matters such as budgeting and taxation, law enforcement and emergency services, public infrastructure and more. In addition to the board, other important political offices in Leelanau include the Sheriff's Office, District Court Judge, Prosecuting Attorney and Register of Deeds. The county also has several representatives at the state level who help ensure that the county's interests are heard at higher levels of government. Every two years there are local elections held to determine who will fill each position. In these races, candidates from all political parties compete for votes from their constituents. With its strong sense of community and commitment to voting rights, Leelanau County is proud to be an active participant in Michigan politics.
The political climate in Leelanau, MI is leaning conservative.
Leelanau County, MI is leaning liberal. In Leelanau County, MI 52.0% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 46.8% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.1% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Leelanau county flipped moderately Democratic, 52.0% to 46.8%.
Leelanau county flipped Democratic in 2020, after voting Republican in four of the last six Presidential elections.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Leelanau, MI is leaning conservative.
Leelanau County, Michigan is leaning liberal.
Traverse City Metro Area is leaning conservative.
Michigan is leaning 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.
Leelanau, Michigan: R R d r r 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 Leelanau, MI
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 1,920 contributions totaling $296,419 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $154 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 565 contributions totaling $75,872 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $134 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)