Fort Smith, AR is a vibrant city located in Sebastian County. The local government is headed by the mayor and nine city directors, who are elected to two-year terms. They are responsible for ensuring that the city’s budget and laws are followed. Additionally, the Fort Smith school board determines the standards of education in the local schools, while also acting as an advocate for students and their families. The City of Fort Smith also partners with multiple organizations within the community to ensure that residents have access to quality resources and services. Fort Smith also holds many events throughout the year which bring together residents from all walks of life to celebrate their history and culture. This diverse atmosphere makes for a great environment both politically and culturally.
The political climate in Fort Smith, AR is moderately conservative.
Sebastian County, AR is very conservative. In Sebastian County, AR 30.7% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 66.2% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 3.1% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Sebastian county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 66.2% to 30.7%.
Sebastian county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Fort Smith, AR is moderately conservative.
Sebastian County, Arkansas is very conservative.
Fort Smith Metro Area is very conservative.
Arkansas is strongly 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.
Fort Smith, Arkansas: 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 Fort Smith, AR
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 3,184 contributions totaling $330,710 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $104 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 3,601 contributions totaling $1,208,400 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $336 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)