Clay County, Indiana is a great place to live with a rich history. It has strong local politics that impact the area's progress and development. The county is currently represented by State Senator Ed Charbonneau, State Representative Doug Gutwein, and Clay County Commissioner Brian Bergsma. All three have worked diligently to ensure that Clay County remains a vibrant and growing community. They have helped pass legislation to improve economic development, education, public safety, infrastructure, healthcare access, and environmental protection in the region. They also partner with local organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Corporation to create jobs and enhance quality of life for everyone living in Clay County. As a result of their dedication to their community over the years, Clay County residents have seen positive changes in their lives.
The political climate in Clay County, IN is very conservative.
In Clay County, IN 20.8% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 77.3% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.9% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Clay county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 77.3% to 20.8%.
Clay county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Clay County, IN is very conservative.
Terre Haute Metro Area is strongly conservative.
Indiana is somewhat 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.
Clay, Indiana: 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 Clay County, IN
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 122 contributions totaling $19,815 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $162 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 117 contributions totaling $30,472 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $260 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)