St. Clair County is located in the south eastern region of Illinois, and has a strong presence in politics throughout the region. With its important roles in state-wide legislation, it often serves as a leader of policies and decision-making. With numerous townships and local government offices scattered throughout the county, each has its own unique approach to governance that helps add to the overall political atmosphere. The county is home to some of the most influential political figures both locally and nationally, including US Representatives Mike Bost and Rodney Davis. The St. Clair County Board consists of 13 members who are charged with overseeing the county's budget and taxes, as well as making policy decisions on issues such as education, transportation, and health care. Local elections are held every two years for all 13 board members, which helps to ensure democratic accountability for residents living within St Clair County.
The political climate in St. Clair County, IL is somewhat liberal.
In St. Clair County, IL 53.2% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 44.5% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.4% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, St. Clair county remained moderately Democratic, 53.2% to 44.5%.
St. Clair county voted Democratic in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
St. Clair County, IL is somewhat liberal.
St. Louis Metro Area is leaning liberal.
Illinois is moderately 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.
St. Clair, Illinois: D D 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 for the Democrat and I for the Independent. 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 St. Clair County, IL
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 7,167 contributions totaling $1,948,639 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $272 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 2,302 contributions totaling $581,430 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $253 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)