Polk, OR County is a vibrant community with a rich history of political engagement. Despite its relatively small population, the county holds strong political opinions and regularly votes in state and federal elections. Locally elected officials often work to promote policies that prioritize the needs of Polk County citizens. From education funding to local infrastructure projects, politicians in the area are dedicated to making Polk County an even better place to live and work. It's important for residents of Polk County to stay up-to-date on local politics so they can vote for candidates who will represent their interests in government.
The political climate in Polk County, OR is leaning conservative.
In Polk County, OR 47.5% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 49.1% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 3.4% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Polk county remained narrowly Republican, 49.1% to 47.5%.
Polk county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Polk County, OR is leaning conservative.
Salem Metro Area is leaning liberal.
Oregon is moderately 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.
Polk, Oregon: R R r r 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 Polk County, OR
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 7,094 contributions totaling $344,394 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $49 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 1,416 contributions totaling $260,341 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $184 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)