Houghton, MI, is a small town located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It has a population of about 7,500 people and is full of rich historical culture. As a local community, Houghton takes great pride in its politics and values. The city is governed by an elected mayor and council which meets every two weeks to discuss current issues and policies that are important to the citizens of Houghton. The city also elects representatives for different positions such as the Clerk/Treasurer and City Manager who work tirelessly to ensure that the needs of the community are met. There is also an active citizen advisory board that works directly with the Mayor and Council to offer input on any proposed projects or changes in policy for the City.
The political climate in Houghton, MI is leaning liberal.
Houghton County, MI is somewhat conservative. In Houghton County, MI 41.8% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 56.0% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.2% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Houghton county remained strongly Republican, 56.0% to 41.8%.
Houghton county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Houghton, MI is leaning liberal.
Houghton County, Michigan is somewhat conservative.
Houghton Metro Area is somewhat conservative.
Michigan is leaning 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.
Houghton, Michigan: 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 Houghton, MI
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 1,110 contributions totaling $71,747 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $65 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 158 contributions totaling $18,203 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $115 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)