Polk County, Tennessee is a small rural county nestled in the Appalachian Mountains. Despite its small size, Polk County plays an important role in local and state politics. The county’s citizens vote on a variety of issues ranging from local school boards to statewide initiatives. In recent years, the county has seen an increase in political activism as more residents become aware of their rights and responsibilities as citizens. Local candidates for office often come from within the county, providing critical insight into the unique challenges facing Polk County residents. Many candidates are also vocal about addressing issues such as environmental sustainability, economic opportunity, and community cohesion. With passionate advocates for change entering the political arena, Polk County is sure to remain a vibrant force in Tennessee politics for years to come.
The political climate in Polk County, TN is very conservative.
In Polk County, TN 17.8% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 81.2% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 0.9% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Polk county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 81.2% to 17.8%.
Polk county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Polk County, TN is very conservative.
Cleveland Metro Area is very conservative.
Tennessee 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.
Polk, Tennessee: 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, TN
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 416 contributions totaling $20,836 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $50 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 85 contributions totaling $9,727 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $114 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)