The Rockford Metro Area is a vibrant and diverse region in the U.S. With a population of over 350,000 people, the area is home to many different cultural groups and political affiliations. It also has a rich history of local government and politics that stretches back hundreds of years. In recent years, the area has seen an increase in participation in local elections with candidates from both major political parties vying for office. The city is currently presided over by Mayor Tom McNamara who was elected in 2017 after winning a four-way race for mayor. He is supported by a number of City Council members who are responsible for enacting local legislation and promoting public safety throughout the region. Other local offices include school boards, county commissioners, state representatives, and more. These officials all work together to ensure that Rockford residents have access to resources they need while continuing to develop and support the community through initiatives such as economic development and infrastructure improvements.
The political climate in Rockford Metro Area is leaning conservative.
In Rockford Metro Area 48.7% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 48.7% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.5% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, the Rockford metro area remained slightly Republican, 48.7% to 48.7%.
The Rockford metro area voted Republican in four of the six previous Presidential elections (2008 and 2012 went Democratic).
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Rockford Metro Area is leaning conservative.
Illinois 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.
Rockford, Illinois: r r 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 Rockford Metro Area
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 9,387 contributions totaling $782,320 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $83 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 2,739 contributions totaling $585,539 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $214 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)