The city of 46616 South Bend, IN is home to a large and diverse population that contributes to the culture and politics of the area. South Bend's local government consists of an elected Mayor and nine Common Council members who work together to manage city services, pass legislation, and oversee programs. The Mayor is responsible for developing a budget, appointing department directors, and managing city resources. Additionally, there are five districts in South Bend which each elect two council members to represent them at City Hall. This allows local citizens to have direct influence on decisions made by the city. In terms of political parties, South Bend has seen a wide range of candidates from both major parties as well as numerous independent or third-party candidates. Regardless of party affiliation, all candidates put forth their best efforts to serve the community and help it thrive.
The political climate in Zip 46616 (South Bend, IN) is leaning liberal.
St. Joseph County, IN is leaning liberal. In St. Joseph County, IN 52.0% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 46.1% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.9% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, St. Joseph county remained moderately Democratic, 52.0% to 46.1%.
St. Joseph county voted Democratic in five of the last six Presidential elections (2004 went Republican).
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Zip 46616 (South Bend, IN) is leaning liberal.
South Bend, Indiana is leaning liberal.
St. Joseph County, Indiana is leaning liberal.
South Bend-Mishawaka Metro Area is leaning liberal.
Indiana is somewhat conservative.
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.
South Bend, Indiana: d 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 46616 (South Bend)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 405 contributions totaling $66,985 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $165 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 36 contributions totaling $1,250 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $35 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)