The city of Ottumwa, IA (52501) is a small town located in the southeastern corner of the state. It is known for its strong sense of community and small-town charm. Politically, Ottumwa has seen an increase in voter participation over recent years, with local elections often seeing a high turnout from citizens. The current Mayor of Ottumwa is Tom Lazio, who was elected to his first term in November 2019. He was reelected in 2021. There are three other Commissioners who serve on the City Commission with him: Connie Blume, Ted Smith, and Melissa Terrell.
All candidates running for office must have lived in Ottumwa for at least one year prior to their election, and must be registered to vote there as well. A variety of candidates run each election cycle from both major political parties, as well as independent candidates that represent different causes and interests. Elections are usually held every four years but special elections may be held if necessary due to unforeseen circumstances or resignations by officials mid-term.
Overall, the politics in 52501 Ottumwa reflects the spirit of its citizens – that is to say fair representation and representation that takes into account diverse points of view are respected and valued here. By staying informed on local issues via news outlets such as newspapers and TV stations, residents have the opportunity to make their voices heard and hold their representatives accountable for their actions during elections cycles and beyond.
The political climate in Zip 52501 (Ottumwa, IA) is moderately conservative.
Wapello County, IA is moderately conservative. In Wapello County, IA 37.2% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 60.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.9% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Wapello county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 60.9% to 37.2%.
Wapello county voted Republican in the two most recent Presidential elections, after voting Democratic in the previous four.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Zip 52501 (Ottumwa, IA) is moderately conservative.
Ottumwa, Iowa is moderately conservative.
Wapello County, Iowa is moderately conservative.
Ottumwa Metro Area is strongly conservative.
Iowa is leaning 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.
Ottumwa, Iowa: D D D D 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 52501 (Ottumwa)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 450 contributions totaling $40,723 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $91 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 359 contributions totaling $51,899 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $145 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)