Somerset County, Maryland is a rural county located on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. It is known for its agricultural roots and its picturesque bay-side villages. The county has a long history of political involvement, which dates back to colonial times. The local government consists of an elected county commission, comprising three members from each district in the county. They are responsible for passing ordinances, establishing budgets, and developing policies that meet the needs of all residents. In addition to the county commissioners, there are also a number of other elected officials who serve on various boards and commissions throughout the county. These include sheriff’s deputies, judges, school board members, and even State Representatives and Senators representing Somerset County in Annapolis. All of these elected officials work together to ensure that the citizens of Somerset County have access to quality public services and fair representation in state government.
The political climate in Somerset County, MD is somewhat conservative.
In Somerset County, MD 41.8% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 56.6% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.6% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Somerset county remained strongly Republican, 56.6% to 41.8%.
Somerset county voted Republican in 2020, 2016, 2008 and 2004, and Democratic in 2012 and 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Somerset County, MD is somewhat conservative.
Salisbury Metro Area is somewhat conservative.
Maryland is very 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.
Somerset, Maryland: d r r 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 Somerset County, MD
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 139 contributions totaling $10,881 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $78 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 128 contributions totaling $21,964 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $172 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)