Sterling, Minnesota is a small town located in St. Louis County with a population of approximately 600 people. It has a Mayor-Council form of government, with the mayor and four council members elected by the citizens during municipal elections every two years. Sterling’s current mayor is Janice Johnson, who was first elected to the position in 2019. The four council members are Blaine Miller, Rick Carlson, Laura Smith, and Jonathan Phillips. Each member works diligently to ensure that the laws and regulations of Sterling are upheld while advocating for policies that will promote growth and prosperity for all of its citizens. Local issues such as public safety, taxes, and infrastructure improvements all fall under their jurisdiction and are taken seriously when making decisions on behalf of the community. With an eye towards preserving its rural heritage and protecting its natural environment, Sterling’s politicians strive to make sure that both residents and visitors alike have access to safe places to exercise their Constitutional rights without compromising their quality of life.
The political climate in Sterling, MN is somewhat conservative.
Blue Earth County, MN is leaning liberal. In Blue Earth County, MN 50.8% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 46.4% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.7% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Blue Earth county flipped Democratic, 50.8% to 46.4%.
Blue Earth county flipped back Democratic in 2020, after voting Republican in 2000 and 2016.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Sterling, MN is somewhat conservative.
Blue Earth County, Minnesota is leaning liberal.
Mankato Metro Area is leaning liberal.
Minnesota 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.
Sterling, Minnesota: r d D d 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 Sterling, MN
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 41 contributions totaling $1,173 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $29 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 43 contributions totaling $16,305 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $379 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)