Grand Rapids, Michigan, located in zip code 49506, is the second-largest city in the state of Michigan. It has a long history of political and social activism on wide range of issues from public transportation to environmental justice. The mayor of Grand Rapids is Rosalynn Bliss, who was elected in 2015 and is the first female mayor in the city's history. She is committed to building a more inclusive city by creating pathways for all residents to have access to jobs, education, housing options, and economic opportunities. There are also two City Commissioners, Senita Lenear and Nathaniel Moody, that serve as elected officials with their own policy initiatives. They work with Mayor Bliss to ensure that Grand Rapids remains an inviting place for all its citizens. Additionally, at the state level there are numerous representatives representing Grand Rapids in both Houses of the Michigan legislature. These legislators consider issues that impact people living in Grand Rapids such as health care reform and infrastructure improvements. Overall, politics in the city of Grand Rapids remain vibrant and active with various leaders coming together to create positive change in their community.
The political climate in Zip 49506 (Grand Rapids, MI) is leaning liberal.
Kent County, MI is leaning liberal. In Kent County, MI 51.9% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 45.8% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.3% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Kent county flipped moderately Democratic, 51.9% to 45.8%.
Kent county flipped Democratic in 2020, after voting Republican in four of the last six Presidential elections.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Zip 49506 (Grand Rapids, MI) is leaning liberal.
Grand Rapids, Michigan is leaning liberal.
Kent County, Michigan is leaning liberal.
Grand Rapids-Kentwood Metro Area is leaning conservative.
Michigan 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.
Grand Rapids, Michigan: R R d r 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 three elections.
Individual Campaign Contributions in zip 49506 (Grand Rapids)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 2,845 contributions totaling $576,596 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $203 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 649 contributions totaling $774,099 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $1,193 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)