Columbus, NC is a small rural town in Western North Carolina. It has a population of approximately 1,500 people and is represented at the local level by its mayor, two town council members, and four commissioners. The small size of the town allows for quick decision-making processes that benefit its citizens. The town council meets regularly to discuss important local issues such as infrastructure, public services, economic development, and budgeting. In addition to these responsibilities, Columbus also has two volunteer fire departments and a police department that are dedicated to helping keep the community safe. The town also works with other nearby towns to collaborate on initiatives that benefit all members of the region. With dedicated leaders who prioritize the needs of the people in their community, Columbus is able to remain an important part of Western North Carolina’s political landscape.
The political climate in Columbus, NC is moderately conservative.
Polk County, NC is strongly conservative. In Polk County, NC 36.6% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 62.2% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.2% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Polk county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 62.2% to 36.6%.
Polk county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Columbus, NC is moderately conservative.
Polk County, North Carolina is strongly conservative.
North Carolina is leaning 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.
Columbus, North Carolina: 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 Columbus, NC
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 627 contributions totaling $69,306 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $111 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 247 contributions totaling $25,448 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $103 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)