Amherst County, Virginia is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and is a peaceful rural region with a rich history. The county seat is Amherst and it has an estimated population of around 32,000 people. Politically, the county leans toward conservative values and has been largely Republican for many years. Local elections typically feature a number of Republican candidates running for office, seeking to represent the county at the state and federal level. Issues that are important to voters in Amherst County include education funding, job creation, infrastructure development, economic growth and preserving the rural character of the area. With its beautiful scenery and small-town charm, Amherst County remains an attractive destination for those looking for a peaceful place to call home.
The political climate in Amherst County, VA is strongly conservative.
In Amherst County, VA 33.4% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 64.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.7% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Amherst county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 64.9% to 33.4%.
Amherst county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Amherst County, VA is strongly conservative.
Lynchburg Metro Area is strongly conservative.
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.
Amherst, Virginia: 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 Amherst County, VA
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 631 contributions totaling $64,837 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $103 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 253 contributions totaling $43,906 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $174 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)