Riley County, KS is a small county located in the north central region of Kansas, encompassing an area of over 635 square miles. The county seat is the city of Manhattan, which is home to the main campus of Kansas State University. Even though Riley County has a population of approximately 75,000 people, it still remains largely rural and agricultural in nature. As such, local politics in Riley County are focused on improving the quality of life for its citizens and promoting economic growth through responsible management and development. Local politicians bring a range of experiences to the table. From experienced business leaders and educators to dedicated advocates for social justice and environmental stewardship, all working together to ensure that Riley County continues to be a great place to live and work.
The political climate in Riley County, KS is leaning liberal.
In Riley County, KS 50.7% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 46.1% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 3.2% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Riley county flipped Democratic, 50.7% to 46.1%.
Riley county flipped Democratic after voting Republican in the previous five Presidential elections.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Riley County, KS is leaning liberal.
Manhattan Metro Area is leaning conservative.
Kansas 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.
Riley, Kansas: R R r R r d
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 Riley County, KS
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 3,004 contributions totaling $235,372 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $78 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 836 contributions totaling $223,939 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $268 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)