Fresno, California is the fifth largest city in the state and has a rich political history. Fresno is home to a strong two-party system which includes both Democrats and Republicans. In recent years, there have been several notable local candidates for both major parties who have fought vigorously for their respective causes. On the Democratic side, Mayor Lee Brand and City Councilmember Paul Caprioglio are both prominent figures in local politics. On the Republican side, former Mayor Ashley Swearengin is a household name in Fresno. These leaders and many others continue to work hard to ensure that Fresno remains an important part of California’s political landscape.
The political climate in Fresno, CA is somewhat liberal.
Fresno County, CA is leaning liberal. In Fresno County, CA 52.9% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 45.1% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.0% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Fresno county remained moderately Democratic, 52.9% to 45.1%.
Fresno county voted Democratic in the four most recent Presidential elections, after 2000 and 2004 went Republican.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Fresno, CA is somewhat liberal.
Fresno County, California is leaning liberal.
Fresno 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.
Fresno, California: R R 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 Fresno, CA
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 24,309 contributions totaling $3,055,557 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $126 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 7,481 contributions totaling $3,252,544 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $435 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)