Modesto, California is located in Stanislaus County and is the 18th largest city in the state. It is a vibrant city with a diverse political landscape that reflects the region’s socio-economic structure. The city has two main political parties, Democratic and Republican, which both have strong footholds in local politics. Local elections often attract a lot of attention due to the presence of major candidates such as Mayor Ted Brandvold, who has been mayor since 2012. Leadership roles within the council are held by District 1 Councilmember Juan Arambula, District 2 Councilmember Kristi Ah You, District 3 Councilmember Dave Lopez and District 4 Councilmember Doug Ridenour. Through regular meetings and community events, these leaders work together to address issues important to Modesto's citizens. Other key figures include Assembly Member Adam Gray and Senator Anthony Cannella, both of whom provide representation on a larger scale for all of Modesto's residents.
The political climate in Zip 95350 (Modesto, CA) is leaning liberal.
Stanislaus County, CA is leaning liberal. In Stanislaus County, CA 49.0% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 48.2% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.8% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Stanislaus county remained narrowly Democratic, 49.0% to 48.2%.
Stanislaus county voted Democratic in the four most recent Presidential elections, after 2000 and 2004 went Republican.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Zip 95350 (Modesto, CA) is leaning liberal.
Modesto, California is leaning liberal.
Stanislaus County, California is leaning liberal.
Modesto Metro Area is leaning 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.
Modesto, California: r R 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 95350 (Modesto)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 1,862 contributions totaling $163,572 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $88 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 531 contributions totaling $115,478 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $217 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)