Sylva, NC is a small town located in the mountains of western North Carolina. It is known for its beautiful scenery and warm hospitality. The town has an active local government, with many different roles that ensure the well being of the community. There are three members of the board of commissioners who work together to make decisions about the future of Sylva. The mayor is responsible for managing day-to-day operations and representing Sylva in regional meetings. In addition to these elected officials, there are also many appointed staff members that help carry out the duties of local government. These positions include department heads, clerks, and public safety personnel. As a whole, local politics in Sylva go beyond just elections and into making real change in the community for both current residents and those to come in the future.
The political climate in Sylva, NC is leaning conservative.
Jackson County, NC is somewhat conservative. In Jackson County, NC 44.8% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 53.0% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.2% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Jackson county remained moderately Republican, 53.0% to 44.8%.
Jackson county voted Republican in five of the last six Presidential elections (2008 went Democratic).
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Sylva, NC is leaning conservative.
Jackson County, North Carolina is somewhat conservative.
Cullowhee Metro Area is somewhat conservative.
North Carolina is leaning conservative.
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.
Sylva, North Carolina: 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 Sylva, NC
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 2,388 contributions totaling $136,203 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $57 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 243 contributions totaling $49,380 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $203 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)