Grand Rapids, MI, located in zip code 49507, is a vibrant and diverse community in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is known for its strong sense of civic pride, with an active local government that takes part in a range of activities to serve its citizens. On the political landscape, Grand Rapids leans heavily toward the Democratic Party, having voted for Democratic candidates in recent presidential elections. At the local level, Grand Rapids residents are served by numerous representatives at both the state and federal levels. These representatives include legislators from both major parties who focus on issues such as healthcare, education reform, infrastructure development and economic growth. Residents of Grand Rapids also take part in regular elections for local officials such as mayors and city council members. In addition to voting for candidates who will best represent their interests on these matters, citizens also have opportunities to become involved with civic groups or join local advisory boards where they can make a difference in their community.
The political climate in Zip 49507 (Grand Rapids, MI) is somewhat liberal.
Kent County, MI is leaning liberal. In Kent County, MI 51.9% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 45.8% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.3% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Kent county flipped moderately Democratic, 51.9% to 45.8%.
Kent county flipped Democratic in 2020, after voting Republican in four of the last six Presidential elections.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Zip 49507 (Grand Rapids, MI) is somewhat liberal.
Grand Rapids, Michigan is somewhat liberal.
Kent County, Michigan is leaning liberal.
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 Rapids, Michigan: R R d r r 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 49507 (Grand Rapids)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 317 contributions totaling $26,305 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $83 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 64 contributions totaling $22,900 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $358 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)