Oakland, Illinois (Zip code 61943) is a small rural community in the eastern part of Coles county. Although this town has always favored conservative values, local politics have become increasingly contentious in recent years. At the local level, there is a mix of Democrats and Republicans who are vying for control of city council. The current mayor is Republican Calvin Stenkamp, who was elected in 2017 and will be up for reelection in 2021. Issues that often divide the two parties include budgeting allocation, infrastructure projects, taxes, and zoning laws. Both sides are passionate about their stances and seek to represent their constituents in the most effective way possible. Altogether, Oakland's political climate reflects its diverse population and unique history.
The political climate in Zip 61943 (Oakland, IL) is moderately conservative.
Coles County, IL is strongly conservative. In Coles County, IL 35.6% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 61.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.5% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Coles county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 61.9% to 35.6%.
Coles county voted Republican in five of the last six Presidential elections (2008 went Democratic).
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Zip 61943 (Oakland, IL) is moderately conservative.
Oakland, Illinois is moderately conservative.
Coles County, Illinois is strongly conservative.
Charleston-Mattoon Metro Area is very 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.
Oakland, Illinois: r R d R R R
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 61943 (Oakland)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 35 contributions totaling $1,759 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $50 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 12 contributions totaling $546 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $46 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)