Dubuque, Iowa is located in Dubuque County and is home to a diverse range of politics. The Democratic Party has been the dominant political party in the county since 1948 and the city of Dubuque has had two Democratic mayors since then. Local politics have been largely focused on economic development, educational reform, social services, and environmental protection. In recent years, the city has seen an influx of new residents who are interested in bringing a higher level of progressive cultural values to local government. In addition to electing City Council members, voters also elect representatives for school board members and county commissioners. Local political candidates come from both major parties and independent candidates. They all strive to ensure that Dubuque County's citizens receive the highest quality of life possible through improved services and responsive governance.
The political climate in Dubuque County, IA is leaning conservative.
In Dubuque County, IA 47.6% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 50.5% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.0% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Dubuque county remained Republican, 50.5% to 47.6%.
Dubuque county voted Republican in the two most recent Presidential elections, after voting Democratic in the previous four.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Dubuque County, IA is leaning conservative.
Dubuque Metro Area is leaning conservative.
Iowa 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.
Dubuque, Iowa: 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 Dubuque County, IA
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 3,314 contributions totaling $240,881 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $73 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 1,381 contributions totaling $791,513 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $573 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)