Charleston, IL is a small city in Coles County, Illinois with a population of about 21,000 people. The local government consists of an elected mayor and eight council members who are responsible for setting the city's policies. There is also a City Clerk and Treasurer who are appointed by the mayor and approved by the City Council. The current City Council is made up of individuals from diverse backgrounds who represent all parts of the city and strive to make Charleston a better place for its citizens. The Mayor appoints various committees to address important issues such as public safety, economic development, housing, transportation, and more. These committees help to ensure that all citizens have their voices heard in local decision-making processes. In addition to the City Council, there are also several state representatives that provide representation for Charleston residents in Springfield, IL. As a whole, the local government in Charleston works together to promote economic growth while providing citizens with quality services that improve their quality of life.
The political climate in Charleston, IL is leaning conservative.
Coles County, IL is strongly conservative. In Coles County, IL 35.6% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 61.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.5% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Coles county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 61.9% to 35.6%.
Coles county voted Republican in five of the last six Presidential elections (2008 went Democratic).
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Charleston, IL is leaning conservative.
Coles County, Illinois is strongly conservative.
Charleston-Mattoon 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.
Charleston, Illinois: r R d 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 Charleston, IL
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 5,820 contributions totaling $297,431 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $51 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 676 contributions totaling $98,285 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $145 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)