Wheeler, MI is a small town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It has a rich political history, with one of its most notable contributions being the election of Thomas J. O'Brien as mayor in 1956, marking the first time an Irish-American had held that office in the city's history. The current mayor is Cissy McAndrews, and her administration is focused on preserving Wheeler's small-town feel while making sure it remains a welcoming and vibrant community for everyone who calls it home. The city council has six members who work together to ensure that Wheeler is running efficiently and productively, while also addressing any concerns or issues brought up by residents. With its strong sense of civic pride and commitment to keeping its local politics inclusive and transparent, Wheeler continues to be an excellent example of what small-town America should strive to be.
The political climate in Wheeler, MI is strongly conservative.
Gratiot County, MI is strongly conservative. In Gratiot County, MI 35.0% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 63.2% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.8% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Gratiot county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 63.2% to 35.0%.
Gratiot county voted Republican in five of the last six Presidential elections (2008 went Democratic).
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Wheeler, MI is strongly conservative.
Gratiot County, Michigan is strongly conservative.
Alma Metro Area is strongly 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.
Wheeler, Michigan: 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 Wheeler, MI
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 13 contributions totaling $10,389 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $799 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 62 contributions totaling $4,557 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $74 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)