Whitefish, Montana is a small city located in the northwestern part of the state. The population of Whitefish is estimated to be around 7,000 people and it is a popular tourist destination due to its proximity to Glacier National Park and Flathead Lake. As such, the politics in Whitefish are driven by local concerns about tourism and economic development. Elected officials at the municipal level are responsible for issues related to infrastructure, public safety, zoning regulations, and taxation. Additionally, there are state representatives who serve on various committees and boards that focus on environmental protection and economic development. On the national level, Whitefish residents have elected representatives for the Senate and House of Representatives who bring awareness to their constituents’ views on local issues as well as those from across the country.
The political climate in Whitefish, MT is moderately conservative.
Flathead County, MT is strongly conservative. In Flathead County, MT 33.8% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 63.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.2% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Flathead county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 63.9% to 33.8%.
Flathead county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Whitefish, MT is moderately conservative.
Flathead County, Montana is strongly conservative.
Kalispell Metro Area is strongly conservative.
Montana is moderately 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.
Whitefish, Montana: 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 Whitefish, MT
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 2,876 contributions totaling $387,907 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $135 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 569 contributions totaling $340,160 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $598 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)