Portage, WI County has a unique political landscape that is shaped by its diverse population. Although it is primarily a rural county, the area has seen increasing urbanization in recent years. This has resulted in a more diverse mix of political perspectives among the local residents. The primary political parties represented in Portage are the Democratic and Republican parties, with both having notable support from different communities throughout the county. During election season, local elections often feature a variety of candidates from different backgrounds and interests vying for public office. There is also an emerging independent community in Portage that is gaining traction and providing voters with alternatives to the traditional party lines. All in all, Portage offers its residents a chance to have their voices heard and participate in democratic processes.
The political climate in Portage County, WI is leaning liberal.
In Portage County, WI 50.3% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 47.5% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.2% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Portage county remained Democratic, 50.3% to 47.5%.
Portage county voted Democratic in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Portage County, WI is leaning liberal.
Stevens Point Metro Area is leaning liberal.
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.
Portage, Wisconsin: 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 Portage County, WI
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 3,141 contributions totaling $207,904 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $66 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 597 contributions totaling $188,895 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $316 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)