Salem, SC is a small town located in Oconee County. The town has a population of around 1,030 and is filled with friendly people who take pride in their community. Despite its size, Salem has an active political scene. Citizens of Salem vote for local representatives to serve on the Town Council which governs the decisions made in the small town. The Council is currently made up of five members elected by popular vote and they are responsible for setting policy on various issues such as budgeting and public safety. Elections for new Council members are held every two years and are open to all registered voters in Salem. This past election saw the re-election of three incumbent members while a newcomer was voted into office as well. As such, Salem residents have a vested interest in local politics and make sure to stay informed about who is running for office so they can make an informed decision when casting their ballots.
The political climate in Zip 29676 (Salem, SC) is very conservative.
Oconee County, SC is very conservative. In Oconee County, SC 25.6% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 73.0% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.4% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Oconee county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 73.0% to 25.6%.
Oconee county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Zip 29676 (Salem, SC) is very conservative.
Salem, South Carolina is very conservative.
Oconee County, South Carolina is very conservative.
Seneca Metro Area is very conservative.
South Carolina is somewhat conservative.
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.
Salem, South Carolina: R R R 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 three elections.
Individual Campaign Contributions in zip 29676 (Salem)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 140 contributions totaling $12,481 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $89 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 248 contributions totaling $84,490 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $341 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)