The Reading, PA Metro Area is a vibrant and bustling city with a rich political landscape. Local politics are often centered around advocating for constituents’ needs and ensuring that their voices are heard. Several local organizations and government agencies have been established to provide services to residents in the area, such as job training initiatives, public safety programs, and other social services. Additionally, the City of Reading operates its own governing body to represent the interests of its citizens. Several initiatives have been implemented by the City of Reading in recent years in an effort to increase economic development and improve quality of life for all citizens. Furthermore, many candidates running for office in local elections prioritize issues related to economic growth, public safety, education reform, environmental protection, and transportation infrastructure. Overall, local politicians work hard to ensure that Reading remains a safe and prosperous community for all who live within it.
The political climate in Reading Metro Area is leaning conservative.
In Reading Metro Area 45.1% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 53.2% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.7% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, the Reading metro area remained moderately Republican, 53.2% to 45.1%.
The Reading metro area voted Republican in five of the last six Presidential elections (2008 went Democratic).
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Reading Metro Area is leaning conservative.
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.
Reading, Pennsylvania: r r d 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 Reading Metro Area
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 12,770 contributions totaling $960,118 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $75 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 4,324 contributions totaling $1,286,214 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $297 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)