Big Rapids, MI is a small city in Michigan's Mecosta County with a population of around 10,500. Despite its relatively small size, Big Rapids is highly engaged in politics and issues surrounding it. The city has many organizations and initiatives that focus on creating change and making the city better for its citizens. One example is the Big Rapids Community Coalition which works to create conversations around local issues such as public health, education, sustainability, economic development, and more. There are also several local political groups such as the Michigan Libertarian Party that work to expand their presence in Big Rapids as well as other areas of Mecosta County. Additionally, many residents actively participate in topics related to politics by attending local town hall meetings or even participating in campaigns for certain candidates. All these activities come together to create a politically active environment that allows residents to make their voices heard and have an impact on the future of their community.
The political climate in Zip 49307 (Big Rapids, MI) is moderately conservative.
Mecosta County, MI is strongly conservative. In Mecosta County, MI 35.0% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 62.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.1% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Mecosta county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 62.9% to 35.0%.
Mecosta county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Zip 49307 (Big Rapids, MI) is moderately conservative.
Big Rapids, Michigan is moderately conservative.
Mecosta County, Michigan is strongly conservative.
Big Rapids Metro Area is strongly conservative.
Michigan is leaning 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.
Big Rapids, Michigan: R R r 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 49307 (Big Rapids)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 887 contributions totaling $62,730 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $71 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 127 contributions totaling $30,772 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $242 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)