Oakland, MD is a small town located in Garrett County, Maryland. The population of the town was 1,925 according to the 2019 US Census. Oakland has a long history of local politics which is still relevant today. Many local governmental decisions are made by the elected body of Town Council members and Mayor who are all voted for by the citizens of Oakland. There are numerous candidates for each position which vary from year to year. Through this representative democracy, residents of Oakland have a voice when it comes to electing officials that will help shape the future of their community. In addition to Town Council and Mayor, there are other elected positions such as Commissioner and Treasurer that also have an impact on policies in Oakland. As such, local politics is an important aspect of life in this rural mountain town as it helps ensure that residents’ rights and needs are represented in decision-making processes.
The political climate in Oakland, MD is moderately conservative.
Garrett County, MD is very conservative. In Garrett County, MD 21.0% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 76.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.1% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Garrett county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 76.9% to 21.0%.
Garrett county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Oakland, MD is moderately conservative.
Garrett County, Maryland is very conservative.
Maryland is very 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.
Oakland, Maryland: 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 Oakland, MD
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 750 contributions totaling $85,113 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $113 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 351 contributions totaling $269,442 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $768 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)