The city of Grand Haven, MI, located in the northwestern corner of the state is a vibrant community known for its small-town charm and access to Lake Michigan. Politically, the area is represented by numerous local candidates who advocate for the needs of their constituents. Most notably, Republican Bill Huizenga serves as the U.S. Representative for Michigan’s 2nd congressional district which includes Grand Haven and has served in that role since 2011. Governor Gretchen Whitmer (Democrat) serves as Governor of Michigan and is an advocate of issues including education, healthcare, infrastructure, and environmental protection. Additionally, the city itself votes on local candidates for positions such as mayor, city council members, school board members, etc. In 2020, Grand Haven voted in Jon Nunn as Mayor with Marjorie Alberda winning a seat on the City Council. The residents of 49417 also have access to various polling locations throughout Grand Haven to make their voices heard at election time.
The political climate in Zip 49417 (Grand Haven, MI) is moderately conservative.
Ottawa County, MI is moderately conservative. In Ottawa County, MI 38.4% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 59.8% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.8% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Ottawa county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 59.8% to 38.4%.
Ottawa county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Zip 49417 (Grand Haven, MI) is moderately conservative.
Grand Haven, Michigan is moderately conservative.
Ottawa County, Michigan is moderately conservative.
Grand Rapids-Kentwood Metro Area is leaning 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.
Grand Haven, 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 49417 (Grand Haven)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 1,713 contributions totaling $111,857 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $65 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 267 contributions totaling $72,492 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $272 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)