Watauga County is located in the western part of North Carolina and is known for its scenic views, outdoor activities, and small-town atmosphere. It has a population of 50,746 people as of 2019 estimates. Politics in Watauga County are largely based on conservative values. The Republican Party dominates politics here, holding all three seats on the Board of Commissioners and all five seats in the North Carolina House of Representatives. Locally elected officials also tend to be predominantly Republican. The county’s school board is nonpartisan, however most candidates are aligned with the GOP platform. Voter turnout for local elections averages around 30%, which is above the state average but still relatively low compared to presidential elections.
The political climate in Watauga County, NC is somewhat liberal.
In Watauga County, NC 53.1% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 44.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.0% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Watauga county remained moderately Democratic, 53.1% to 44.9%.
Watauga county voted Democratic in 2020, 2016 and 2008, and voted Republican in 2012, 2004 and 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Watauga County, NC is somewhat liberal.
Boone Metro Area is somewhat liberal.
North Carolina is leaning 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.
Watauga, North Carolina: 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 Watauga County, NC
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 4,561 contributions totaling $269,302 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $59 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 557 contributions totaling $132,034 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $237 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)