The city of Elkhart, IN is home to a vibrant political landscape that involves many different stakeholders. It has been represented by Congressman Fred Upton in the United States House of Representatives since 1993. On the state level, Elkhart is a part of Indiana's 6th District and is represented by Republican Peggy Mayfield. Locally, Elkhart residents participate in municipal government which includes an elected mayor and city council members. These officials create policy on behalf of the citizens they represent and are tasked with ensuring services and infrastructure improvements meet the needs of those living in Elkhart. The local government also works closely with organizations like Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development Council, South Bend Regional Airport Commission, Indiana Michigan Power Company and more to ensure a healthy business climate for the region. With so many people involved in politics within Elkhart, IN it ensures that all voices are heard when it comes to decision-making.
The political climate in Elkhart, IN is somewhat conservative.
Elkhart County, IN is strongly conservative. In Elkhart County, IN 35.0% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 62.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.1% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Elkhart county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 62.9% to 35.0%.
Elkhart county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Elkhart, IN is somewhat conservative.
Elkhart County, Indiana is strongly conservative.
Elkhart-Goshen Metro Area is strongly conservative.
Indiana is somewhat conservative.
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.
Elkhart, Indiana: 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 Elkhart, IN
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 5,639 contributions totaling $298,928 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $53 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 2,119 contributions totaling $1,375,420 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $649 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)