Chico, CA is a vibrant city located in the Northern part of California. With a population of over 90,000 people, it is one of the larger cities in the region. Chico has a strong sense of community that is reflected in its political landscape. The city has a mayor-council form of government with six members representing different wards and neighborhoods. Elections are held every two years for both City Council and Mayor positions, giving citizens an opportunity to voice their opinions on local politics. There are many active political organizations in town dedicated to advocating for issues that matter to Chico residents such as environmental conservation, accessibility, and public safety. With these organizations leading conversations about important policy changes and initiatives, Chico's local politics stays informed and engaged with the community's needs.
The political climate in Chico, CA is leaning liberal.
Butte County, CA is leaning liberal. In Butte County, CA 49.5% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 47.6% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.9% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Butte county flipped narrowly Democratic, 49.5% to 47.6%.
Butte county flipped Democratic in 2020, after voting Republican in four of the last six Presidential elections.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Chico, CA is leaning liberal.
Butte County, California is leaning liberal.
Chico Metro Area is leaning liberal.
California is strongly 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.
Chico, California: R r d r r 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 Chico, CA
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 20,825 contributions totaling $1,246,063 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $60 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 3,015 contributions totaling $726,716 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $241 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)