Eugene, Oregon is a vibrant city with a rich political history. It is home to the University of Oregon and is known for its arts, culture, outdoor recreation, and progressive values. Eugene has been a leader in environmental sustainability initiatives, such as reducing carbon emissions and protecting open spaces. The city also has strong grassroots organizing that works towards issues such as housing affordability, homeless services, and social justice. In addition to local efforts, Eugene's politicians have shown solidarity with national movements like Black Lives Matter and the fight against gender-based violence. The current mayor of Eugene is Lucy Vinis who was elected in 2018 on a platform of progressivism and equality. She has promoted policies that have increased access to transportation options for low-income families and improved public safety measures in the city. Additionally, Mayor Vinis has worked diligently to ensure equitable funding for public education and strengthen police accountability measures. With an impressive commitment to progressive values both locally and nationally, it's no surprise that politics in Eugene are vibrant!
The political climate in Eugene, OR is somewhat liberal.
Lane County, OR is strongly liberal. In Lane County, OR 60.5% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 36.1% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 3.4% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Lane county remained overwhelmingly Democratic, 60.5% to 36.1%.
Lane county voted Democratic in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Eugene, OR is somewhat liberal.
Lane County, Oregon is strongly liberal.
Eugene-Springfield Metro Area is strongly liberal.
Oregon is moderately 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.
Eugene, Oregon: D D D D D D
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 Eugene, OR
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 78,267 contributions totaling $4,131,195 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $53 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 3,352 contributions totaling $816,332 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $244 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)