Putnam County, IL is a small county located in the central part of the state. The county has a long history of political engagement and civic involvement. Over the years, Putnam County has elected both Republican and Democratic candidates to its local government offices. In more recent years, candidates from both major parties have been successful in their bids for public office. Local elections typically feature a broad range of issues that are important to Putnam County residents, such as economic development, public safety, environmental initiatives and educational opportunities. Equally important to voters are the character and integrity of the individual seeking office, as well as their plans for meeting the needs of Putnam County citizens.
The political climate in Putnam County, IL is moderately conservative.
In Putnam County, IL 39.4% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 58.7% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.9% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Putnam county remained very strongly Republican, 58.7% to 39.4%.
Putnam county voted Republican in the two most recent Presidential elections, after voting Democratic in the previous four.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Putnam County, IL is moderately conservative.
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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.
Putnam, Illinois: d d D d 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 Putnam County, IL
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 61 contributions totaling $1,170 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $19 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 15 contributions totaling $12,385 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $826 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)