The Des Moines-West Des Moines Metro Area is a bustling area in central Iowa, with a population of 775,366 as of the 2019 census. It is the second largest metropolitan area in the state and serves as the hub for politics in Iowa. The region is served by both local and state level politicians who are focused on bringing together their diverse communities to create a strong economy and improve quality of life. Local leaders strive to promote growth in business, education, and infrastructure while also ensuring that social services are provided for the people they represent. From school board members to mayors, residents have many opportunities to get involved in their community’s political process by attending city council meetings, voting in local elections, or joining committees working towards progress. With its vibrant political culture, the Des Moines-West Des Moines Metro Area continues to be a major influence on Iowa's political landscape.
The political climate in Des Moines-West Des Moines Metro Area is somewhat liberal.
In Des Moines-West Des Moines Metro Area 53.0% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 44.8% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.2% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area remained moderately Democratic, 53.0% to 44.8%.
The Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area voted Democratic in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Des Moines-West Des Moines Metro Area is somewhat liberal.
Iowa is leaning 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.
Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa: 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 four elections.
Individual Campaign Contributions in Des Moines-West Des Moines Metro Area
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 31,155 contributions totaling $6,259,558 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $201 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 9,536 contributions totaling $4,791,530 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $502 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)