The Salem, OR Metro Area has a strong political presence and energetic citizens who are passionate about the outcomes of local elections. Every election cycle, the city is buzzing with activity as residents rally behind their chosen candidates. There are numerous registered political parties in the Salem Metro Area, including Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Green Party members, and more. Each party represents different ideologies and beliefs that are unique to the area. Voters can choose from a wide variety of candidates who have all declared their candidacy in local races such as City Council Members and Mayors. In addition to being involved in local politics through voting and supporting local candidates, citizens can also participate by attending public forums or town hall meetings where they can ask questions directly to politicians running for office or get more information on their respective campaigns.
The political climate in Salem Metro Area is leaning liberal.
In Salem Metro Area 48.6% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 48.0% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 3.4% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, the Salem metro area flipped slightly Democratic, 48.6% to 48.0%.
The Salem metro area flipped Democratic in 2020, after voting Republican in four of the last six Presidential elections.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Salem Metro Area is leaning liberal.
Oregon is moderately 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.
Salem, Oregon: r r d r r 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 Salem Metro Area
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 24,871 contributions totaling $1,293,710 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $52 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 4,337 contributions totaling $757,800 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $175 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)