Rice, Minnesota is a small county located in the southeastern part of the state. It is known for its peaceful rural lifestyle and friendly communities. Despite its small size, Rice County boasts an active political environment with a growing number of local candidates seeking office. In recent years, more and more people have taken an interest in the politics of Rice County, leading to increased voter turnout at local elections. Candidates from both major parties have campaigned hard to represent their constituents, enacting policies that benefit the citizens of Rice County. Although it may not be the most exciting political center in Minnesota, Rice County has become increasingly engaged in its own internal politics and continues to play an important role in the state's political landscape.
The political climate in Rice County, MN is leaning liberal.
In Rice County, MN 48.8% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 48.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.3% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Rice county remained narrowly Republican, 48.9% to 48.8%.
Rice county voted Republican in the two most recent Presidential elections, after voting Democratic in the previous four.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Rice County, MN is leaning liberal.
Faribault-Northfield Metro Area is leaning conservative.
Minnesota 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.
Rice, Minnesota: 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 Rice County, MN
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 6,391 contributions totaling $353,558 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $55 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 668 contributions totaling $119,780 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $179 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)