The small town of Vilas, SD has a population of roughly 200 people and is governed by a mayor and five city council members. The town prides itself on its close-knit community and local politics are seen as an important part of upholding the unique values that make up Vilas. All candidates running for mayor or city council are committed to serving the town’s best interests, no matter what their political affiliations may be. Local citizens take part in elections by casting their votes for which candidate they believe will best serve the town’s needs. Through these elections, residents can show their support for current policies or ideas that may bring positive change to Vilas. Regardless of who is elected, Vilas remains dedicated to keeping its small-town charm intact while still preserving its values and striving for progress.
The political climate in Vilas, SD is very conservative.
Miner County, SD is very conservative. In Miner County, SD 28.1% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 69.2% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.7% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Miner county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 69.2% to 28.1%.
Miner county voted Republican in five of the last six Presidential elections (2008 went Democratic).
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Vilas, SD is very conservative.
Miner County, South Dakota is very 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.
Vilas, South Dakota: R R d 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 Vilas, SD
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 17 contributions totaling $2,850 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $168 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 11 contributions totaling $1,418 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $129 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)