Thurston County is a county located in the state of Nebraska with a population of 5,100 people as of 2019. It encompasses an area of 437 square miles and is home to many small towns and villages. It is governed by three elected commissioners who each serve four-year terms. These commissioners are responsible for setting laws, approving budgets, and appointing department heads in the county. They also oversee various departments such as public works, fire and rescue, health services, code enforcement, parks and recreation, emergency management, law enforcement, taxation and assessment, human services, planning and zoning. The county is also home to state legislative districts which ensure representation for the citizens of Thurston at the state level of government. Local political candidates have been selected from both major parties for positions in Thurston County’s government as well as at the state level. Residents of Thurston County can expect their politicians to remain committed to improving their quality of life by addressing issues such as economic growth, public safety, infrastructure improvements, healthcare access and more.
The political climate in Thurston County, NE is leaning conservative.
In Thurston County, NE 47.2% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 49.6% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 3.2% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Thurston county remained narrowly Republican, 49.6% to 47.2%.
Thurston county voted Republican again in 2020, after voting Democratic in 2012, 2008, and 2004.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Thurston County, NE is leaning conservative.
Not Found Metro Area is 0.
Nebraska is moderately 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.
Thurston, Nebraska: r 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 Thurston County, NE
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 396 contributions totaling $14,045 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $35 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 51 contributions totaling $21,699 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $425 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)