Baxter, IA is a small town with a population of 3,400 people. It is located in the Midwest and is home to many hard-working citizens who are involved in their local politics. Public services such as police and fire departments, public health services, and public transportation are available to the population of Baxter. Local politics in Baxter are largely focused on finding solutions to issues facing the community such as economic development and infrastructure improvements. The town is represented by two local political candidates – Andrew Nelson and Karen Blaylock – who each bring different skills and experiences to the table that enable them to serve their constituents well. Andrew Nelson has been a long-time resident of Baxter and has served in numerous leadership roles within the city including being a member of the City Council for 12 years while still maintaining his own private law practice. Karen Blaylock is a more recent addition to Baxter but still brings her passion for addressing community issues as she also served on City Council prior to running for office. Both candidates possess strong commitment to their constituents and have taken an active role in finding creative ways to address challenges facing the town such as environmental concerns, poverty levels, limited access to healthcare, and other social issues. With both candidates actively engaged in improving quality of life for all citizens of Baxter, this small town can look forward to continued progress over time.
The political climate in Baxter, IA is moderately conservative.
Jasper County, IA is moderately conservative. In Jasper County, IA 38.3% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 59.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.8% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Jasper county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 59.9% to 38.3%.
Jasper county voted Republican again in 2020, after voting Democratic in 2012, 2008, and 2004.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Baxter, IA is moderately conservative.
Jasper County, Iowa is moderately conservative.
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.
Baxter, Iowa: r d d d 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 Baxter, IA
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 194 contributions totaling $10,741 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $55 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 4 contributions totaling $1,000 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $250 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)