Highland, VA County is a small rural area in Central Virginia with a population of approximately 4,700 people. It is governed by the Highland Board of Supervisors, which consists of five members elected by residents in their respective districts. The Board of Supervisors oversees local government operations and passes laws on issues such as planning and zoning, public safety and recreation. This board also appoints a County Administrator to serve as the Chief Executive Officer for the county. Issues facing local politics in Highland include maintaining adequate infrastructure and services while managing tight budgets. Residents feel strongly about land use regulations that limit property development and prefer to maintain a rural character within the community. The candidates for positions on the Board of Supervisors must demonstrate an understanding of these issues while also considering how their decisions will benefit the community as a whole.
The political climate in Highland County, VA is very conservative.
In Highland County, VA 27.2% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 71.2% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.6% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Highland county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 71.2% to 27.2%.
Highland county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Highland County, VA is very conservative.
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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.
Highland, 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 Highland County, VA
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 179 contributions totaling $110,920 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $620 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 60 contributions totaling $5,609 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $93 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)