The State College, PA Metro Area has a vibrant political landscape that is driven by its diverse population. Residents of the area have been active in shaping local and state politics for decades. With a strong representation from both major parties, citizens of State College are actively involved in debates on key issues facing their community. Local candidates running for office must be responsive to the needs and desires of their constituents and be willing to work across party lines in order to ensure that progress is made for the betterment of all people living in the area. From city councils to congressional seats, State College is home to some of the most engaged and passionate public servants who strive to make positive change throughout their community.
The political climate in State College Metro Area is leaning liberal.
In State College Metro Area 51.4% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 46.7% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.9% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, the State College metro area remained narrowly Democratic, 51.4% to 46.7%.
The State College metro area voted Democratic in the four most recent Presidential elections, after 2000 and 2004 went Republican.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
State College 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.
State College, Pennsylvania: r r 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 State College Metro Area
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 13,658 contributions totaling $1,189,758 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $87 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 1,858 contributions totaling $689,167 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $371 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)