The politics of the Bemidji, MN Metro Area are largely determined by the local government. Located in Beltrami county, the area is part of Minnesota's 8th congressional district and is represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by Republican Pete Stauber. On a state level, the area is composed of two legislative districts: District 2A and District 5B. These district's representatives are both Democrats, with John Persell representing District 2A and Heather Pringle representing District 5B. The Metro Area also has three county commissioners who are responsible for setting laws that affect citizens' daily lives and making sure all areas within Beltrami County are served fairly and equitably. In addition to attending local political meetings and events, residents can actively participate in elections by registering to vote or volunteering with local campaigns. With a diverse population ranging from Native American tribes to immigrant communities, the Bemidji Metro Area provides an interesting environment for political discourse and engagement that sets it apart from other parts of Minnesota.
The political climate in Bemidji Metro Area is leaning conservative.
In Bemidji Metro Area 47.2% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 50.4% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.4% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, the Bemidji metro area remained narrowly Republican, 50.4% to 47.2%.
The Bemidji metro area voted Republican again in 2020, after voting Democratic in 2012, 2008, and 2004.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Bemidji Metro Area is leaning conservative.
Minnesota 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.
Bemidji, Minnesota: 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 four elections.
Individual Campaign Contributions in Bemidji Metro Area
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 1,785 contributions totaling $84,726 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $47 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 333 contributions totaling $37,534 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $113 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)