Nelson, IL is a small rural community in central Illinois. It has a strong community spirit and vibrant local politics. The City of Nelson is governed by a Mayor and five Council members who are all elected in the general election every four years. Issues discussed at local council meetings range from infrastructure and public safety to economic development and zoning. There has also been an increase in citizen participation in recent years, with many members of the community actively engaged in local political discussions. Nelson residents have shown great enthusiasm for their town’s future, and there are several initiatives underway that are aimed at improving the quality of life for all citizens. The upcoming election promises to be an exciting time for the City of Nelson as they seek out new leadership that can continue promoting growth and progress in this charming rural setting.
The political climate in Nelson, IL is moderately conservative.
Lee County, IL is moderately conservative. In Lee County, IL 39.0% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 58.6% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.5% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Lee county remained very strongly Republican, 58.6% to 39.0%.
Lee county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Nelson, IL is moderately conservative.
Lee County, Illinois is moderately conservative.
Dixon 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.
Nelson, Illinois: R R r 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 Nelson, IL
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 590 contributions totaling $32,778 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $56 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 198 contributions totaling $21,155 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $107 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)