Carbondale, IL is a city in the Southwestern part of the state with a rich history and a strong commitment to its local politics. The political landscape of Carbondale is highly diverse, as it encompasses different ideologies, backgrounds, and special interests. It is currently represented in the Illinois General Assembly by two Democratic members of the House of Representatives and two Republican senators. A wide variety of local organizations are actively involved in Carbondale's politics, from neighborhood associations to environmental groups. As an example, the Carbondale Environmental Action Group (CEAG) organizes events such as educational seminars on local green energy initiatives, bike-to-work days, and tree plantings throughout the city each year. Additionally, numerous non-profit organizations work diligently across many sectors to advocate for diversity and inclusion at all levels of government locally and beyond. All in all, Carbondale’s residents have shown a great deal of interest in their local politics and continuously strive for progress that benefits everyone within the community.
The political climate in Carbondale, IL is somewhat liberal.
Jackson County, IL is leaning liberal. In Jackson County, IL 49.2% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 47.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.8% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Jackson county remained narrowly Democratic, 49.2% to 47.9%.
Jackson county voted Democratic in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Carbondale, IL is somewhat liberal.
Jackson County, Illinois is leaning liberal.
Carbondale-Marion Metro Area is moderately conservative.
Illinois is moderately 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.
Carbondale, Illinois: d D 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 Carbondale, IL
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 7,073 contributions totaling $395,927 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $56 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 1,066 contributions totaling $577,487 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $542 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)