The politics of Laurel, VA are shaped by the city’s diverse population. The city’s elected officials make decisions about a range of issues from public safety and infrastructure to housing and economic development. Residents participate in the political process by voting for local politicians, attending town hall meetings, or volunteering in campaigns. There are many candidates running in upcoming elections, each bringing their own perspectives and plans for the future. With a variety of political views represented, Laurel is an active community where citizens are encouraged to get involved in shaping the future of their city.
The political climate in Laurel, VA is moderately liberal.
Henrico County, VA is strongly liberal. In Henrico County, VA 63.6% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 34.6% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.7% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Henrico county remained overwhelmingly Democratic, 63.6% to 34.6%.
Henrico county voted Democratic in the four most recent Presidential elections, after 2000 and 2004 went Republican.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Laurel, VA is moderately liberal.
Henrico County, Virginia is strongly liberal.
Richmond Metro Area is moderately liberal.
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.
Laurel, Virginia: R 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 Laurel, VA
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 4,707 contributions totaling $425,839 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $90 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 791 contributions totaling $158,111 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $200 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)