Kearney, Nebraska is located in Buffalo County and is an important political hub in the region. The county seat of Buffalo County, Kearney holds a significant role in local politics. It is home to numerous local government offices such as the county courthouse, police station, and county offices. Every two years, voters in Kearney have the opportunity to elect a new mayor and members of the city council. Local elections are closely watched by residents and those outside of Kearney alike as they reflect the area's political leanings. In addition to election seasons, Kearney citizens often engage in community initiatives related to politics such as voter registration drives and public debates on propositions or issues facing the state or nation at large. With so much attention given to local politics throughout the year, it is no wonder that Kearney remains a vital part of Nebraska’s political landscape.
The political climate in Kearney County, NE is very conservative.
In Kearney County, NE 19.4% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 78.0% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.6% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Kearney county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 78.0% to 19.4%.
Kearney county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Kearney County, NE is very conservative.
Kearney Metro Area is very conservative.
Nebraska is moderately 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.
Kearney, Nebraska: 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 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 Kearney County, NE
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 281 contributions totaling $16,378 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $58 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 85 contributions totaling $9,334 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $110 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)