Springfield, IL is the state capital of Illinois, and as such, the city has a vibrant political landscape. With the 2020 General Election approaching, local residents are eager to hear what the various candidates have to say on the issues that matter most. Locally, there are a number of elected officials representing Springfield in Congress including U.S. Representative Rodney Davis and State Representatives Sara Wojcicki Jimenez and Tim Butler. In addition to these federal and state representatives, Springfield residents also elect local officials who represent them in their community including Mayor Jim Langfelder and Aldermanic seats in each Ward. Each election cycle citizens of Springfield come out to voice their opinions at the ballots box ensuring that their votes are counted and their voices are heard.
The political climate in Springfield, IL is leaning liberal.
Sangamon County, IL is leaning conservative. In Sangamon County, IL 46.5% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 50.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.6% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Sangamon county remained Republican, 50.9% to 46.5%.
Sangamon county voted Republican in five of the last six Presidential elections (2008 went Democratic).
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Springfield, IL is leaning liberal.
Sangamon County, Illinois is leaning conservative.
Springfield Metro Area is leaning 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.
Springfield, 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 Springfield, IL
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 28,656 contributions totaling $4,298,799 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $150 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 6,741 contributions totaling $1,969,186 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $292 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)