The politics of South Padre Island, Texas are mainly focused on ensuring that the beach resort remains a popular destination for visitors. Local officials strive to keep the island clean and safe for tourists and travelers alike. The city has been proactive in promoting conservation initiatives to protect the environment as well as stern regulations on development to make sure that all new building is up to code. Additionally, they have made significant contributions to the local economy by developing businesses such as restaurants, retail shops, and entertainment venues. They also work with state-level representatives to ensure that their voice is heard when it comes to laws, regulations, and funding for the citizens of South Padre Island.
The political climate in South Padre Island, TX is leaning 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
South Padre Island, TX is leaning 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.
South Padre Island, 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 South Padre Island, TX
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 198 contributions totaling $78,964 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $399 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 113 contributions totaling $49,649 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $439 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)