The Ames, IA Metro Area is a vibrant and diverse community with many different political views and affiliations. It is home to numerous state representatives, senators, and mayors who work together to ensure the wellbeing of the area’s residents. The city’s politics are guided by its own municipal government that consists of a mayor, city council, and various committees. The committees work diligently to address issues ranging from infrastructure improvements to public safety concerns. Additionally, prominent local organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce or the Doane Society provide resources on current affairs and can be contacted for more information about local politics. With all of these components working together, it is easy to see how Ames is a great place for residents interested in getting involved in local politics.
The political climate in Ames Metro Area is moderately liberal.
In Ames Metro Area 57.2% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 39.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 3.0% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, the Ames metro area remained very strongly Democratic, 57.2% to 39.9%.
The Ames metro area voted Democratic in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Ames Metro Area is moderately 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.
Ames, 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 Ames Metro Area
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 8,560 contributions totaling $760,234 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $89 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 1,168 contributions totaling $206,565 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $177 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)