Berkeley, CA 94708 is a vibrant city that has long been known for its progressive political leanings and social activism. The city is part of the larger East Bay region in the San Francisco Bay Area and is home to a diverse population of students, families, artists, and professionals. Berkeley’s local politics are shaped by the City Council—which consists of eight members elected from seven districts—and the mayor, who is elected at large. Through these offices, residents are able to express their views on issues such as affordable housing, climate change initiatives, transportation networks, and education reform. Berkeley has also had an active role in California's statewide elections; in 2018, the majority of its votes went towards Democratic candidates for state office. As such, it continues to be a hotbed of progressive political discourse and action that shapes the future of California and beyond.
The political climate in Zip 94708 (Berkeley, CA) is strongly liberal.
Alameda County, CA is very liberal. In Alameda County, CA 79.8% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 17.6% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.6% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Alameda county remained overwhelmingly Democratic, 79.8% to 17.6%.
Alameda county voted Democratic in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Zip 94708 (Berkeley, CA) is strongly liberal.
Berkeley, California is strongly liberal.
Alameda County, California is very liberal.
San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley Metro Area is very liberal.
California is strongly 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.
Berkeley, California: D D 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 three elections.
Individual Campaign Contributions in zip 94708 (Berkeley)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 22,263 contributions totaling $3,077,354 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $138 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 548 contributions totaling $150,682 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $275 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)