The city of New Bedford, MA (02744) is a culturally-diverse town with a long and important history rooted in the whaling industry. Historically, the city has been known to be politically Democratic, though more recently there has been an increase in the number of Republican voters as well. Local politics have been focused on issues such as immigration, economic development, education reform, and environmental protection. In 2019, Mayor Jon Mitchell was re-elected for his third term due to his focus on maintaining fiscal responsibility while investing in essential services such as public safety and infrastructure improvements throughout the city. Initiatives such as providing access to fresh produce in food deserts, redeveloping blighted properties into mixed-use developments, and expanding renewable energy options have all had a positive effect on local communities. With an ever-changing demographic landscape and population growth continuing to shape the political landscape of New Bedford (02744), it is sure to remain at the forefront of progressive change for years to come.
The political climate in Zip 02744 (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 02744 (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 02744 (New Bedford)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 140 contributions totaling $3,545 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $25 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 10 contributions totaling $475 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $48 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)