Cape May, NJ is a popular tourist destination located on the Jersey Shore. It is governed by an elected Mayor and City Council that works together to promote civic engagement and pursue policies that benefit the citizens of Cape May. While the city does not have its own political party or candidates, local issues such as taxes, public safety, infrastructure improvements, and tourism are discussed regularly among members of City Council. The public typically has a chance to weigh in on these topics through town hall meetings, surveys, and other forms of outreach. Additionally, local elections often feature candidates from both major political parties who bring their respective platforms to the table when running for office. Regardless of which party is leading the charge in Cape May’s politics, it is clear that residents value having their voices heard when it comes to important decisions regarding their community.
The political climate in Cape May, NJ is leaning conservative.
Cape May County, NJ is somewhat conservative. In Cape May County, NJ 41.3% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 57.2% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.4% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Cape May county remained very strongly Republican, 57.2% to 41.3%.
Cape May county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Cape May, NJ is leaning conservative.
Cape May County, New Jersey is somewhat conservative.
Ocean City Metro Area is somewhat conservative.
New Jersey 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.
Cape May, New Jersey: r 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 Cape May, NJ
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 1,118 contributions totaling $133,297 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $119 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 202 contributions totaling $129,757 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $642 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)