New Bedford, MA, located in zip code 02740, is a diverse city that has seen a steady increase in population over the last decade. As such, it also has an active political scene with a range of different candidates from all walks of life running for positions at both local and state levels. From education and health care to transportation and safety, local politics in New Bedford are always top-of-mind for citizens and voters alike. With the 2020 election cycle just around the corner, the political landscape in New Bedford is heating up as candidates share their platforms and seek out support from residents. At the local level, people can vote on everything from school board members to city council representatives who make decisions that effect their lives every day. Through these elections, New Bedford residents have the power to shape their community’s future and be empowered to make lasting change in their neighborhoods.
The political climate in Zip 02740 (New Bedford, MA) is somewhat liberal.
Bristol County, MA is somewhat liberal. In Bristol County, MA 54.9% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 42.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.2% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Bristol county remained strongly Democratic, 54.9% to 42.9%.
Bristol county voted Democratic in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Zip 02740 (New Bedford, MA) is somewhat liberal.
New Bedford, Massachusetts is somewhat liberal.
Bristol County, Massachusetts is somewhat liberal.
Providence-Warwick Metro Area is moderately liberal.
Massachusetts is very 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.
New Bedford, Massachusetts: 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 02740 (New Bedford)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 1,526 contributions totaling $89,785 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $59 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 106 contributions totaling $11,636 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $110 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)