Niles, MI is a small town with a population of about 11,000 people. The local politics in Niles are largely driven by the Mayor and the City Council. The current Mayor is Mike McCauslin who was elected in 2017. The City Council consists of six members who meet regularly to discuss matters concerning the city's residents and businesses. They are responsible for passing laws and ordinances, approving budgets, setting tax rates, and making various other decisions that affect the lives of citizens on a daily basis. Recently, the city has been focused on increasing economic development opportunities while maintaining its small-town feel. For example, they have invested in downtown revitalization projects to help attract new businesses. Additionally, they have worked with local schools and businesses to create workforce development programs to give young adults job training and educational opportunities. In terms of local political candidates for upcoming elections, there are currently no candidates running for office in Niles at this time.
The political climate in Niles, MI is leaning conservative.
Berrien County, MI is leaning conservative. In Berrien County, MI 45.3% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 52.7% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.9% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Berrien county remained moderately Republican, 52.7% to 45.3%.
Berrien county voted Republican in five of the last six Presidential elections (2008 went Democratic).
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Niles, MI is leaning conservative.
Berrien County, Michigan is leaning conservative.
Niles Metro Area is leaning 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.
Niles, Michigan: R R d 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 Niles, MI
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 1,414 contributions totaling $108,260 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $77 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 576 contributions totaling $169,536 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $294 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)