Coles County, IL is located in the heart of the Midwest. The county is home to many small towns and villages, each with its own unique political dynamics. Even though there isn’t a large population living in the county, there are still several local politicians vying for positions on various boards and commissions. This past election season saw many intense races as candidates fought for their right to represent their constituents. Some of these representatives are now serving at the state level while others remain at the county level, actively working to ensure that quality services and legislative initiatives are put into action. Every year, interested parties can find out more information about their local political candidates by attending town hall meetings or visiting their campaign websites. By reaching out to local officials, Coles County residents can stay informed on important issues that affect them both locally and statewide.
The political climate in Coles County, IL is strongly conservative.
In Coles County, IL 35.6% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 61.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.5% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Coles county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 61.9% to 35.6%.
Coles county voted Republican in five of the last six Presidential elections (2008 went Democratic).
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Coles County, IL is strongly conservative.
Charleston-Mattoon Metro Area is very conservative.
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.
Coles, Illinois: 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 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 Coles County, IL
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 1,625 contributions totaling $99,517 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $61 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 307 contributions totaling $47,570 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $155 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)