The small town of Sterling, Nebraska is located in Johnson County and has a population of approximately 1,500 people. It is known for its friendly residents and close-knit community. Politically, the town of Sterling leans towards more conservative views and generally elects Republican candidates when it comes time to cast ballots. The mayor of Sterling is currently Charles Skarnes and he was elected in 2017, succeeding long-time mayor Jack Sehnert who held the office for 27 years. Additionally, current members on the city council are: Anita Valentine, Barbara Waugh, Jeff Fleckenstein, John Johnson Jr., and Allen Koester. All five City Council members were elected to represent their constituents in 2016 and 2018 respectively. In general, the citizens of Sterling tend to prefer more conservative policies when it comes to local government decisions and are committed to ensuring their town remains a safe and prosperous place for all citizens.
The political climate in Sterling, NE is strongly conservative.
Johnson County, NE is very conservative. In Johnson County, NE 29.0% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 68.0% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 3.0% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Johnson county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 68.0% to 29.0%.
Johnson county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Sterling, NE is strongly conservative.
Johnson County, Nebraska is very conservative.
Nebraska 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.
Sterling, Nebraska: 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 Sterling, NE
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 35 contributions totaling $1,168 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $33 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 9 contributions totaling $1,811 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $201 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)