Dayton, VA is a small town in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley with a population of about 2,200 people. It is the county seat of Rockingham County and is known for its historical significance in the Civil War. The local politics in Dayton focus on issues that are important to the citizens such as quality education, public safety, economic development, and maintaining the area’s small-town charm. Many residents take part in local political activities such as attending city council meetings and volunteering during elections. The mayor serves as the leader of Dayton and works with City Council members to ensure all residents' voices are heard. There are also numerous initiatives going on throughout the year to help maintain a safe and prosperous community.
The political climate in Dayton, VA is strongly conservative.
Rockingham County, VA is very conservative. In Rockingham County, VA 28.9% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 69.3% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.9% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Rockingham county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 69.3% to 28.9%.
Rockingham county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Dayton, VA is strongly conservative.
Rockingham County, Virginia is very conservative.
Harrisonburg Metro Area is somewhat conservative.
Virginia 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.
Dayton, Virginia: 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 Dayton, VA
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 1,957 contributions totaling $137,901 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $70 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 586 contributions totaling $160,241 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $273 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)