Atkins, IA is a small town located in Benton County. It has a population of approximately 1500 people and is primarily supported by the agricultural industry. The local politics in Atkins are dominated by the Republican party, with most elected officials being members of the GOP. Local elections tend to be decided by smaller issues such as taxes, zoning laws, and other local concerns. Residents of Atkins also tend to take part in state and national politics as well, with most residents voting for the same candidates on both a state and national scale. As with any small town in Iowa, there is an active community spirit that drives discussions about various aspects of life in Atkins, including politics.
The political climate in Atkins, IA is strongly conservative.
Benton County, IA is strongly conservative. In Benton County, IA 35.2% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 62.8% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.0% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Benton county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 62.8% to 35.2%.
Benton county voted Republican in three most recent Presidential elections, after voting Democratic in the previous three.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Atkins, IA is strongly conservative.
Benton County, Iowa is strongly conservative.
Cedar Rapids Metro Area is leaning liberal.
Iowa is leaning 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.
Atkins, Iowa: d d 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 Atkins, IA
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 18 contributions totaling $545 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $30 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 11 contributions totaling $565 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $51 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)