Leelanau County is located in northern Michigan and is home to a diverse population of people. The county is governed by a Board of Commissioners, which consists of seven members elected from five districts within the county. The Board has the authority to make decisions regarding policy, finance, land use, and other matters related to the county’s needs. In addition to the Board, there are numerous townships that manage local issues such as roads, schools, public safety and more. The county also has several elected officials including a County Sheriff, Prosecuting Attorney, Treasurer and Clerk/Register. Leelanau County has been known for its conservative politics that seek to protect traditional values while focusing on responsible fiscal management and smart planning. Elections for local candidates happen every two years with races for State Senate and House seats occurring in even numbered years. Political discourse in Leelanau County tends to be civil with candidates who have strong records of service to their community often holding an advantage over those without such credentials. All in all, Leelanau County offers residents a wide variety of political views that keep the county’s government operating effectively and responsively.
The political climate in Leelanau County, MI is leaning liberal.
In Leelanau County, MI 52.0% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 46.8% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.1% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Leelanau county flipped moderately Democratic, 52.0% to 46.8%.
Leelanau county flipped Democratic in 2020, after voting Republican in four of the last six Presidential elections.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Leelanau County, MI is leaning liberal.
Traverse City Metro Area is leaning conservative.
Michigan is leaning 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.
Leelanau, Michigan: R R d 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 Leelanau County, MI
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 2,609 contributions totaling $271,514 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $104 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 618 contributions totaling $88,571 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $143 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)