Dane, WI County is an important hub of political activity in the state. Home to the state capital of Madison, the county plays host to many important decisions at the state level. Elected officials here serve as representatives for their constituents and make sure to listen to their needs and concerns when making laws and regulations. As a result, Dane County has a long history of strong governance and is seen as a leader in Wisconsin politics. Local political candidates are often held to a higher standard than those running elsewhere, but they take pride in their position and strive for change that will benefit all citizens. Political debates can be fierce in Dane County, but its diverse population can usually come together with compromise and respect for one another’s views.
The political climate in Dane County, WI is very liberal.
In Dane County, WI 75.5% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 22.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.7% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Dane county remained overwhelmingly Democratic, 75.5% to 22.9%.
Dane county voted Democratic in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Dane County, WI is very liberal.
Madison Metro Area is very liberal.
Wisconsin is leaning 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.
Dane, Wisconsin: D D D D D D
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 Dane County, WI
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 113,115 contributions totaling $13,271,982 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $117 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 8,395 contributions totaling $2,611,942 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $311 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)