Wisconsin Rapids, WI is a small city located in Wisconsin with a population of 18,435. It is the county seat of Wood County and is home to many local businesses and attractions. The city is governed by an elected mayor and council members who work together to make decisions for the betterment of the community. On the political side, Wisconsin Rapids is a predominantly Democratic city with all four representatives being Democrats in 2017. Local elections are held every two years in April and candidates from both parties are nominated for each position. Voting turnout tends to be high as residents take part in shaping their local government’s future. Issues that have been addressed in recent years include taxes, schools, public safety, and economic development. While these issues remain important topics for discussion among residents, there continues to be an overall sense of optimism about the future of Wisconsin Rapids.
The political climate in Wisconsin Rapids, WI is somewhat conservative.
Wood County, WI is moderately conservative. In Wood County, WI 39.6% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 58.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.5% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Wood county remained very strongly Republican, 58.9% to 39.6%.
Wood county voted Republican in five of the last six Presidential elections (2008 went Democratic).
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Wisconsin Rapids, WI is somewhat conservative.
Wood County, Wisconsin is moderately conservative.
Wisconsin Rapids-Marshfield Metro Area is moderately conservative.
Wisconsin is leaning 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.
Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin: r r D 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 Wisconsin Rapids, WI
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 810 contributions totaling $79,542 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $98 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 507 contributions totaling $91,083 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $180 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)