Princeton, West Virginia is the county seat of Mercer County and has a population of approximately 6,000 people. It is a small city with a strong sense of community and is home to many local businesses. The politics of Princeton are largely determined by the Mercer County Commission, which consists of five elected officials. The mayor is responsible for legislative matters within the city limits and works in collaboration with the commission to ensure that all residents have access to quality services and resources. Local issues such as infrastructure improvements, public safety, economic development, and environmental protection are all handled by the commission. Additionally, the City Council meets monthly to discuss proposals for new legislation or ordinances in order to promote a healthy business climate in Princeton. In addition to these governing bodies, local political candidates run for office every year in order to represent their constituents and give voice to their concerns.
The political climate in Princeton, WV is moderately conservative.
Mercer County, WV is very conservative. In Mercer County, WV 22.1% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 76.5% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.4% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Mercer county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 76.5% to 22.1%.
Mercer county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Princeton, WV is moderately conservative.
Mercer County, West Virginia is very conservative.
Bluefield Metro Area is very conservative.
West Virginia is very 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.
Princeton, West 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 Princeton, WV
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 348 contributions totaling $46,596 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $134 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 190 contributions totaling $62,374 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $328 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)