Amherst, Virginia is a small town located in the central part of the state. It has a rich history, with many of its inhabitants having deep roots in the region. The local politics in Amherst are reflective of this heritage, with it being largely conservative and valuing tradition over modernity. Residents often vote for candidates that are popular among their peers and have values that align with the town's ideals. Issues such as taxes, education, and infrastructure investments often take center stage in local elections. Political debates revolve around how best to serve the needs of Amherst's citizens while maintaining its unique character. Town hall meetings are regularly held to inform residents about important issues facing their community and give them an opportunity to voice their opinions. Amherst takes pride in its political process and strives to ensure that everyone is represented fairly and equally.
The political climate in Amherst, VA is moderately conservative.
Amherst County, VA is strongly conservative. In Amherst County, VA 33.4% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 64.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.7% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Amherst county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 64.9% to 33.4%.
Amherst county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Amherst, VA is moderately conservative.
Amherst County, Virginia is strongly conservative.
Lynchburg Metro Area is strongly conservative.
Virginia is somewhat liberal.
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.
Amherst, Virginia: 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 Amherst, VA
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 183 contributions totaling $15,165 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $83 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 144 contributions totaling $25,755 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $179 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)