Portage, OH County is a vibrant community with a long history of engaged civic participation. Locally, the political landscape is diverse and complex. Residents of the county have been represented by an array of political candidates from both major parties. These representatives have brought their own perspectives to the county’s political environment, resulting in intense debates about issues such as taxes, infrastructure and development. While differences between the two major parties remain strong, many citizens are passionate about finding common ground and forming sensible compromises that benefit everyone. There are also a variety of local organizations working together to facilitate meaningful discussion about important topics in Portage County politics. As a result, residents can be confident that their voices will be heard at the ballot box.
The political climate in Portage County, OH is somewhat conservative.
In Portage County, OH 43.0% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 55.4% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.7% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Portage county remained strongly Republican, 55.4% to 43.0%.
Portage county voted Republican in the two most recent Presidential elections, after voting Democratic in the previous four.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Portage County, OH is somewhat conservative.
Akron Metro Area is leaning liberal.
Ohio 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.
Portage, Ohio: 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 Portage County, OH
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 7,279 contributions totaling $514,707 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $71 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 1,186 contributions totaling $374,309 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $316 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)