The politics in the 80226 zip code of Lakewood, Colorado can be seen through the lens of local government. The city of Lakewood has a mayor-council style of government and is run by seven council members who are elected at-large for four year terms. The mayor is also elected for four year terms. Council meetings are held twice per month to discuss new initiatives, votes on decisions impacting the community, and the overall management of the city.
Another way to view local politics is through ballot initiatives or referendums that are placed on ballots when citizens decide they want a policy change or addition. In 2017, two initiatives were voted on in the 80226 zip code, one dealing with minimum wage increases and another concerning housing regulations. Both passed easily with overwhelming support from voters in the area.
With an engaged population, strong local leadership, and a focus on improving quality of life for all residents, it is clear that politics in Lakewood's 80226 zip code are vibrant and healthy.
The political climate in Zip 80226 (Lakewood, CO) is somewhat liberal.
Jefferson County, CO is moderately liberal. In Jefferson County, CO 57.9% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 39.3% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.8% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Jefferson county remained very strongly Democratic, 57.9% to 39.3%.
Jefferson county voted Democratic in the four most recent Presidential elections, after 2000 and 2004 went Republican.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Zip 80226 (Lakewood, CO) is somewhat liberal.
Lakewood, Colorado is somewhat liberal.
Jefferson County, Colorado is moderately liberal.
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood Metro Area is strongly liberal.
Colorado is somewhat 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.
Lakewood, Colorado: 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 80226 (Lakewood)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 2,510 contributions totaling $227,689 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $91 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 380 contributions totaling $86,266 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $227 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)