Surprise Valley, SD is a small town with a population of around 800 people. It is known for its quaint downtown and beautiful scenery. Politically, the town has been historically conservative leaning. The local government is made up of an elected mayor, five council members, and several other positions such as treasurer and clerk. In recent years, however, there have been some shifts in voting habits as more people move to the area from other parts of the country. As a result, Surprise Valley’s politics have become slightly more progressive in some areas while maintaining its conservative leanings overall. Local political candidates focus on economic growth and development, environmental conservation, and public safety. For the most part, residents of Surprise Valley are united in their desire to see their small town continue to thrive.
The political climate in Surprise Valley, SD is moderately conservative.
Mellette County, SD is moderately conservative. In Mellette County, SD 38.8% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 58.4% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.9% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Mellette county remained very strongly Republican, 58.4% to 38.8%.
Mellette county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Surprise Valley, SD is moderately conservative.
Mellette County, South Dakota is moderately conservative.
South Dakota is strongly 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.
Surprise Valley, South Dakota: 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 Surprise Valley, SD
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 4 contributions totaling $125 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $31 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 5 contributions totaling $230 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $46 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)