Murphysboro, IL is a rural town located in Jackson County, with a population of just over 8,000 people. The city is governed by a mayor-council form of government with the mayor being elected at-large and seven council members representing each ward. All candidates for office are nonpartisan. In recent years there have been several issues that the community has had to address, including economic development, infrastructure investment and education opportunities. Local organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce and Jackson County Economic Development Corp are working on these issues to ensure Murphysboro continues to be a vibrant place to live. There are numerous ways for residents to get involved in the political process, from attending city council meetings to engaging with elected officials about their concerns and opinions. With its strong community spirit and dedication to progress, Murphysboro is an ideal place for those looking for a safe and secure environment in which to raise their families.
The political climate in Zip 62966 (Murphysboro, IL) is leaning conservative.
Jackson County, IL is leaning liberal. In Jackson County, IL 49.2% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 47.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.8% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Jackson county remained narrowly Democratic, 49.2% to 47.9%.
Jackson county voted Democratic in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Zip 62966 (Murphysboro, IL) is leaning conservative.
Murphysboro, Illinois is leaning conservative.
Jackson County, Illinois is leaning liberal.
Carbondale-Marion Metro Area is moderately conservative.
Illinois is moderately 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.
Murphysboro, Illinois: 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 62966 (Murphysboro)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 238 contributions totaling $17,115 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $72 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 280 contributions totaling $110,270 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $394 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)