Cairo, IL is a small city located in Alexander County in southern Illinois. Politically, the city of Cairo has typically voted Democratic. In recent years, however, it has become increasingly divided between conservative and liberal voters. Local elections often bring out a mix of candidates from various political backgrounds – ranging from Democrats to Republicans, Independents, Libertarians, and other minor parties. Issues such as infrastructure improvements and education funding have been major topics of debate in Cairo's local politics. The most recent mayoral election was won by current mayor Wade Davis following a contentious election that saw several different candidates vying for the position. Mayor Davis has been working to make Cairo into an even more prosperous community since he assumed office in 2017.
The political climate in Cairo, IL is leaning liberal.
Alexander County, IL is somewhat conservative. In Alexander County, IL 42.5% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 56.7% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 0.8% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Alexander county remained strongly Republican, 56.7% to 42.5%.
Alexander county voted Republican in the two most recent Presidential elections, after voting Democratic in the previous four.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Cairo, IL is leaning liberal.
Alexander County, Illinois is somewhat conservative.
Cape Girardeau Metro Area is very 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.
Cairo, Illinois: D d D D 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 Cairo, IL
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 23 contributions totaling $455 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $20 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 5 contributions totaling $1,049 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $210 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)