The politics in the Athens, TN Metro Area are shaped by a local government that is composed of three mayors from each of the cities that make up the metro area. These mayors work together to develop policies and solutions to issues affecting their shared constituents. The mayors also work closely with their respective city councils to ensure their decisions are reflective of the needs and desires of the citizens they serve. Additionally, the county commission is also involved in decision making for the region as a whole. All of these governing bodies come together to create an environment where citizens can feel safe and secure, while voicing opinions on how politics affect their communities.
The political climate in Athens Metro Area is very conservative.
In Athens Metro Area 19.1% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 79.7% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.2% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, the Athens metro area remained overwhelmingly Republican, 79.7% to 19.1%.
The Athens metro area voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Athens Metro Area is very conservative.
Tennessee is moderately 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.
Athens, Tennessee: 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 four elections.
Individual Campaign Contributions in Athens Metro Area
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 236 contributions totaling $13,151 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $56 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 284 contributions totaling $65,605 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $231 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)