Tatum, NM is a small town in Lea County with a population of approximately 2500 people. The local politics of Tatum are largely influenced by its residents’ priorities, which typically include a focus on public safety and the economy. The mayor of the city is Sharon Smith and she has been in office since 2008. In 2020, she ran unopposed for re-election and was easily victorious due to her commitment to her constituents. Moreover, the City Council consists of five members who are elected by a majority vote every two years and have terms that last four years. These representatives ensure that all voices within Tatum are heard at city hall when making important decisions about the future of the city. Currently, they are working to improve infrastructure, attract businesses, and further develop economic opportunities for their citizens. Overall, Tatum's political system works hard to provide its citizens with a safe and prosperous environment to live in.
The political climate in Zip 88267 (Tatum, NM) is strongly conservative.
Lea County, NM is very conservative. In Lea County, NM 19.4% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 79.0% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.6% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Lea county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 79.0% to 19.4%.
Lea county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Zip 88267 (Tatum, NM) is strongly conservative.
Tatum, New Mexico is strongly conservative.
Lea County, New Mexico is very conservative.
Hobbs Metro Area is very conservative.
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.
Tatum, New Mexico: 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 88267 (Tatum)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 2 contributions totaling $500 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $250 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 87 contributions totaling $74,301 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $854 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)