Machias, Maine is a small rural town located on the coast of Maine. The town has a deep history and rich culture that has been influenced by the sea and its unique natural landscape. It is home to an active community that values their local traditions and take pride in their independent spirit. Politically, Machias residents are mainly affiliated with smaller regional parties such as the Maine Green Independent Party (MGIP) or Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). A few city council members also identify as Republicans or Independents. Locally, the issues facing Machias and its citizens include the environment, economic development, education, and health care across all demographics. In recent years, there have been numerous debates around these topics within the wider community and among local candidates for office. The town is actively engaged in determining solutions to ensure the future viability of their community, while preserving its historic character at the same time.
The political climate in Machias, ME is somewhat conservative.
Washington County, ME is moderately conservative. In Washington County, ME 39.0% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 58.7% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.3% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Washington county remained very strongly Republican, 58.7% to 39.0%.
Washington county voted Republican in four of the six previous Presidential elections (2008 and 2012 went Democratic).
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Machias, ME is somewhat conservative.
Washington County, Maine is moderately conservative.
Maine is somewhat 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.
Machias, Maine: 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 Machias, ME
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 204 contributions totaling $7,354 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $36 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 80 contributions totaling $6,946 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $87 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)