Harlingen, TX is a vibrant city located in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. It is known for its strong economy, vibrant culture, and commitment to public service. In terms of politics, the city is governed by a Mayor-Council form of government and each member of the City Council serves their constituency with dedication and enthusiasm. Currently, the Mayor is Chris Boswell, who has been in office since 2018. The five members of City Council include Javier Villalobos, Dr. Benigno Garcia Jr., Ruben De La Rosa Jr., Veronica Vela Whitacre, and Elia Cornejo. These local representatives strive to create effective policies that benefit everyone in Harlingen through sound fiscal management and responsible decision-making. They are committed to serving their constituents while ensuring that every citizen's voice remains heard throughout the process.
The political climate in Harlingen, TX is somewhat liberal.
Cameron County, TX is somewhat liberal. In Cameron County, TX 56.0% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 42.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.1% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Cameron county remained strongly Democratic, 56.0% to 42.9%.
Cameron county voted Democratic in five of the last six Presidential elections (2004 went Republican).
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Harlingen, TX is somewhat liberal.
Cameron County, Texas is somewhat liberal.
Brownsville-Harlingen Metro Area is somewhat liberal.
Texas is leaning 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.
Harlingen, Texas: d r D D D 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 Harlingen, TX
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 1,639 contributions totaling $217,060 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $132 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 898 contributions totaling $318,023 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $354 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)