The small mountain town of Chama, NM (87520) is located in the northern part of the state and is home to a population of approximately 1,100 people. Politically, Chama is known for being a predominantly Republican-leaning town. In recent years, local political candidates such as David M. Galindo and Stephen “Steve” Duran have sought positions on the city council and school board. Duran was elected to the Chama Valley Independent School District Board of Education in 2017, while Galindo lost his election in 2016 but remains active in local politics. Both candidates have focused on issues such as improving infrastructure, increasing economic development opportunities, expanding public safety services and maintaining good relations with neighboring towns. Residents value their representatives’ commitment to listening to constituents’ needs and taking action on their behalf. In addition to local elections, many residents also vote in national and state elections due to their strong sense of civic responsibility.
The political climate in Zip 87520 (Chama, NM) is moderately liberal.
Rio Arriba County, NM is very liberal. In Rio Arriba County, NM 66.1% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 32.5% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.4% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Rio Arriba county remained overwhelmingly Democratic, 66.1% to 32.5%.
Rio Arriba county voted Democratic in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Zip 87520 (Chama, NM) is moderately liberal.
Chama, New Mexico is moderately liberal.
Rio Arriba County, New Mexico is very liberal.
Espanola Metro Area is very liberal.
New Mexico is somewhat 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.
Chama, New Mexico: 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 87520 (Chama)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 105 contributions totaling $3,124 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $30 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 10 contributions totaling $1,030 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $103 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)