The politics in the Wausau, WI Metro Area are vibrant and active. There are many opportunities for citizens to get involved in local issues and express their opinion on matters most important to them. The city is divided into two congressional districts, Wisconsin's 7th congressional district and Wisconsin's 8th congressional district. This allows for representation of a wide range of political parties and views. The area is also home to the State Capitol Building in Madison, where state-wide politics take place. Each year there are a few different local political candidates running for office, giving citizens the opportunity to select a candidate whose values align with theirs. Additionally, there are multiple forums hosted by numerous organizations throughout the year for citizens to discuss issues relating to Wausau Metro Area politics.
The political climate in Wausau-Weston Metro Area is moderately conservative.
In Wausau-Weston Metro Area 40.1% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 58.1% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.7% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, the Wausau metro area remained very strongly Republican, 58.1% to 40.1%.
The Wausau metro area voted Republican in five of the last six Presidential elections (2008 went Democratic).
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Wausau-Weston Metro Area is moderately conservative.
Wisconsin 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.
Wausau-Weston, Wisconsin: 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 Wausau-Weston Metro Area
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 5,546 contributions totaling $507,084 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $91 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 1,849 contributions totaling $667,096 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $361 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)