Melbourne, Iowa is a small town located in Marshall County that has been part of the state since 1845. The politics of Melbourne are largely conservative in nature, though many citizens take pride in their independence and individual values when it comes to voting. Issues such as education, health care, and jobs are important to the people of Melbourne, and local legislators do their best to ensure the town's continued growth. Local organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club work hard to maintain strong ties with local government leaders to ensure their voices are heard. In addition to electing representatives into office at the county level, Melbourne also has an active mayor-council form of government which works together to keep residents informed on important matters. With its commitment to keeping its population safe and prosperous, Melbourne continues to be a thriving community for those who call it home.
The political climate in Melbourne, IA is somewhat conservative.
Marshall County, IA is leaning conservative. In Marshall County, IA 45.1% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 52.8% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.1% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Marshall county remained moderately Republican, 52.8% to 45.1%.
Marshall county voted Republican in four of the six previous Presidential elections (2008 and 2012 went Democratic).
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Melbourne, IA is somewhat conservative.
Marshall County, Iowa is leaning conservative.
Marshalltown Metro Area is leaning 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.
Melbourne, Iowa: r r 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 Melbourne, IA
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 10 contributions totaling $700 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $70 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 5 contributions totaling $480 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $96 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)