The Ottumwa, IA Metro Area is a vibrant and growing community with a strong sense of civic engagement. Local politics are very important to the citizens of this area and there are multiple ways for residents to become involved in the political process. There are several organizations that focus on local issues including education, economic development, and public safety. Residents can join committees and participate in local town halls to stay informed about what is happening in their community. The local government provides resources to citizens so they can be active participants in their government. Additionally, there are many opportunities for interested citizens to get involved in national politics such as writing letters or emailing representatives or attending rallies in support of causes they care about.
The political climate in Ottumwa Metro Area is strongly conservative.
In Ottumwa Metro Area 34.7% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 63.6% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.8% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, the Ottumwa metro area remained overwhelmingly Republican, 63.6% to 34.7%.
The Ottumwa metro area voted Republican in the two most recent Presidential elections, after voting Democratic in the previ.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Ottumwa Metro Area is strongly conservative.
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.
Ottumwa, Iowa: d 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 Ottumwa Metro Area
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 489 contributions totaling $44,863 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $92 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 427 contributions totaling $60,569 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $142 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)