Portland, PA is a small borough in Northampton County with a population of 2,933 people. It is governed by the Portland Borough Council, which consists of seven members elected to four-year terms. The council meets regularly to handle official business and pass ordinances affecting the community. At the state level, Portland is part of Pennsylvania's 15th House District and the 12th Senate District, which are represented by Republican representatives Jesse Topper and Mario Scavello respectively. In Portland, citizens have access to many different resources and institutions for political involvement. Through various organizations like the NAACP and local chapters of political parties, residents can engage in meaningful dialogue about current issues and discuss ways to make change locally and beyond. Residents also have opportunities to attend town hall meetings or become involved in volunteer activities that help advance social causes. Additionally, those interested in running for office can reach out to their local political party leaders to get involved in campaigns or even run for election themselves.
The political climate in Portland, PA is somewhat conservative.
Northampton County, PA is leaning liberal. In Northampton County, PA 49.6% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 48.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.4% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Northampton county flipped narrowly Democratic, 49.6% to 48.9%.
Northampton county flipped back to Democratic in the most recent Presidential election, after voting Republican in 2016.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Portland, PA is somewhat conservative.
Northampton County, Pennsylvania is leaning liberal.
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Metro Area is leaning conservative.
Pennsylvania is leaning 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.
Portland, Pennsylvania: d d D d 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 Portland, PA
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 122 contributions totaling $13,898 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $114 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 74 contributions totaling $12,617 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $171 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)