Bethel, AK is a small city located in the western part of Alaska with an estimated population of 6,080 people. It is the main hub for 56 villages in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region. In terms of local politics, Bethel is governed by the City Council which consists of seven members who are elected to four-year terms. The mayor of Bethel is Vivian Stiver and is also chosen by popular vote. The city has two representatives in the state legislature as well as representation from both major political parties at all levels of government. Although there are no current local political candidates running for office, many have been involved in local campaigns in recent years such as James \"Jim\" Sykes, Sarah Day O'Neill and Sharon Williams-Klutznick. In addition to these representatives, many locals volunteer their time to work on community projects or help out at nonprofit organizations across town. Overall, politics in Bethel can be described as passionate and engaged with citizens eager to make their voices heard.
The political climate in Zip 99559 (Bethel, AK) is moderately liberal.
Bethel Census Area County, AK is strongly liberal. In Bethel Census Area County, AK 60.0% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 32.6% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 7.4% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Bethel Borough flipped overwhelmingly Democratic, 60.0% to 32.6%.
Bethel county flipped Democratic in most recent Presidential election (2016 and 2004 went Republican).
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Zip 99559 (Bethel, AK) is moderately liberal.
Bethel, Alaska is moderately liberal.
Bethel Census Area County, Alaska is strongly liberal.
Not Found Metro Area is 0.
Alaska 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.
Bethel, Alaska: d R D D 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 99559 (Bethel)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 244 contributions totaling $16,790 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $69 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 7 contributions totaling $2,904 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $415 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)