The Erie, PA Metro Area has a rich political history and is home to a diverse population. Since the founding of the city in 1795, Erie has had a strong commitment to local government, with an emphasis on citizen participation in politics. The region is currently represented by several elected officials at the county, state, and national levels. These include U.S. Senator Bob Casey Jr., U.S. Representative Mike Kelly, Governor Tom Wolf, and many others. The local political landscape includes Democrats and Republicans who strive to represent the best interests of their constituents through effective governance and sound policymaking decisions. As a result, Erie citizens are able to access quality public services such as health care, education, transportation systems, and infrastructure improvements that they need for their everyday lives. Additionally, there are several local organizations dedicated to engaging citizens in politics and making sure their voices are heard on all levels of government.
The political climate in Erie Metro Area is leaning liberal.
In Erie Metro Area 49.7% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 48.6% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.7% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, the Erie metro area flipped slightly Democratic, 49.7% to 48.6%.
The Erie metro area flipped back to Democratic in the most recent Presidential election, after voting Republican in 2016.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Erie Metro Area is leaning liberal.
Pennsylvania is leaning 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.
Erie, Pennsylvania: d d D D 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 Erie Metro Area
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 6,368 contributions totaling $1,219,001 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $191 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 2,012 contributions totaling $641,185 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $319 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)