Highlands County, Florida is the home of some of the most fascinating political landscapes in the country. The county is governed by a five-member Board of County Commissioners, which oversees all county departments and serves as the legislative body for the county. Highlands County is also home to a number of state legislative representatives, who have been elected to their positions by citizens in their districts. Local politics are an important part of life here, with candidates actively campaigning on issues such as education, transportation and economic development. Furthermore, Highlands County residents can participate in local politics by voting in elections or running for office themselves. By engaging in these activities, they can help shape the future of Highlands County and ensure that their voices are heard in local government.
The political climate in Highlands County, FL is very conservative.
In Highlands County, FL 32.4% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 66.8% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 0.8% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Highlands county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 66.8% to 32.4%.
Highlands county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Highlands County, FL is very conservative.
Sebring-Avon Park Metro Area is very conservative.
Florida is leaning 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.
Highlands, Florida: 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 Highlands County, FL
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 1,680 contributions totaling $92,868 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $55 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 961 contributions totaling $145,541 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $151 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)