The politics in Douglas County, Nebraska are reflective of the state's larger political landscape. In terms of partisanship, the county tends to lean slightly towards the Republican Party as a whole and has traditionally voted for Republican candidates in both local and federal elections. In recent years, though, the county has seen an uptick in Democratic voting numbers, especially among younger voters. Local politics are largely driven by concerns about economic development and job creation, with many local officials working hard to attract new businesses and stimulate growth within the county. The Douglas County Board of Commissioners is responsible for managing budgeting decisions and setting taxation policy throughout the county. They also take into account public opinion on matters such as school funding and infrastructure improvements before making final decisions. Alongside them, mayors in each city in Douglas County work towards improving their respective cities while collaborating with other local leaders to bring positive change throughout the entire county.
The political climate in Douglas County, NE is somewhat liberal.
In Douglas County, NE 54.4% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 43.1% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.5% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Douglas county remained strongly Democratic, 54.4% to 43.1%.
Douglas county voted Democratic in 2020, 2016 and 2008, and voted Republican in 2012, 2004 and 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Douglas County, NE is somewhat liberal.
Omaha-Council Bluffs Metro Area is leaning conservative.
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.
Douglas, Nebraska: R R d r d 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 Douglas County, NE
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 23,602 contributions totaling $5,931,282 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $251 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 7,557 contributions totaling $10,433,027 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $1,381 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)