Salem, SC is a small town located in the Upstate of South Carolina. While it is relatively small, Salem has a vibrant political culture that serves to benefit its citizens and residents. Local elections are held each year for city council members that help shape the future of Salem. The elected officials work hard to ensure that the needs and interests of all community members are taken into account when decisions are being made. In addition, local organizations such as the Salem Republican Club and the Salem Democratic Party provide opportunities for citizens to get involved in politics and stay up to date on local issues. Whether it's attending a City Council meeting or getting involved with one of these civic groups, there are plenty of ways for people living in Salem to stay informed about their town's politics.
The political climate in Salem, SC is strongly conservative.
Oconee County, SC is very conservative. In Oconee County, SC 25.6% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 73.0% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.4% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Oconee county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 73.0% to 25.6%.
Oconee county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Salem, SC is strongly conservative.
Oconee County, South Carolina is very conservative.
Seneca Metro Area is very conservative.
South Carolina is somewhat 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.
Salem, South 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 Salem, SC
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 140 contributions totaling $12,481 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $89 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 248 contributions totaling $84,490 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $341 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)