Nelson County, Virginia is located in the foothills of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains in Central Virginia. The county is comprised of many small communities and rural areas that are home to a diverse population. With its rolling hills, lush forests and winding rivers, Nelson County has always held a strong appeal to those who appreciate nature and outdoor living. When it comes to politics, Nelson County is largely blue with both Democrats and Republicans represented in local offices. Local Democratic candidates have been active in advocating for issues such as access to healthcare, environmental protection and education reform. On the other side of the aisle, Republican candidates promote more conservative values such as lower taxes, less regulation and fiscal responsibility. Regardless of party affiliation or political beliefs, all residents of Nelson County share common goals such as economic growth and preservation of its beautiful natural resources.
The political climate in Nelson County, VA is leaning conservative.
In Nelson County, VA 46.4% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 51.7% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.9% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Nelson county remained moderately Republican, 51.7% to 46.4%.
Nelson county voted Republican again in 2020, after voting Democratic in 2012, 2008, and 2004.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Nelson County, VA is leaning conservative.
Charlottesville Metro Area is strongly liberal.
Virginia is somewhat 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.
Nelson, Virginia: r 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 Nelson County, VA
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 2,233 contributions totaling $371,154 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $166 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 219 contributions totaling $108,297 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $495 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)