The politics in Salem, Oregon are largely dominated by the Democratic Party. However, there is a large amount of diversity in the city, with multiple political and social organizations that advocate for different causes. Salem has an elected mayor, along with city council members and other local government officials who represent the area's interests. Residents have the opportunity to get involved in their local politics by attending public meetings, speaking at events, or becoming part of a political organization or party. The city also holds elections every two years where voters can make their voices heard and decide on issues that impact them most directly. With the diverse range of opinions present in Salem, it is important to keep up-to-date on current political developments so that all voices are heard and respected within the community.
The political climate in Salem, OR is leaning liberal.
Marion County, OR is leaning liberal. In Marion County, OR 48.9% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 47.7% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 3.4% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Marion county flipped narrowly Democratic, 48.9% to 47.7%.
Marion county flipped Democratic in 2020, after voting Republican in four of the last six Presidential elections.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Salem, OR is leaning liberal.
Marion County, Oregon is leaning liberal.
Salem Metro Area is leaning 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.
Salem, Oregon: r r d r r 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 Salem, OR
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 18,969 contributions totaling $944,181 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $50 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 2,631 contributions totaling $435,230 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $165 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)