Plainfield, NJ is a vibrant and active community with a strong political presence. Local politics in Plainfield have been shaped by a variety of issues and events that have taken place in the area over the years. These include education reform initiatives, increased development around the city, and public safety improvements. The local government works to ensure that all citizens are informed about current policies and participate actively in their decision-making process. Every election cycle brings new faces to the political arena, with candidates from various backgrounds vying for positions on the city council or mayor's office. Residents of Plainfield take pride in their ability to make positive change through their involvement in local politics.
The political climate in Plainfield, NJ is strongly liberal.
Union County, NJ is very liberal. In Union County, NJ 67.0% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 31.5% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.5% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Union county remained overwhelmingly Democratic, 67.0% to 31.5%.
Union county voted Democratic in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Plainfield, NJ is strongly liberal.
Union County, New Jersey is very liberal.
New York-Newark-Jersey City Metro Area is strongly liberal.
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.
Plainfield, New Jersey: D D D D D 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 Plainfield, NJ
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 5,154 contributions totaling $394,763 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $77 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 454 contributions totaling $134,179 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $296 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)