Durham, North Carolina (27712) is a vibrant city with a rich political landscape. Durham is part of the larger Durham County, which is represented by multiple local elected officials in the district and state government. Currently, the mayor of Durham is Steve Schewel, who was first elected to office in 2017. He has been an advocate for economic development, public safety initiatives, and environmental sustainability during his tenure as mayor. Other notable elected officials include Mayor Pro Tem Cora Cole-McFadden, City Council Members Vernetta Alston and Mark-Anthony Middleton, and State Senator Wiley Nickel. Over the past decade, Durham has seen a growing progressive movement that has pushed for reforms such as affordable housing initiatives and public transportation improvements. Furthermore, there have been efforts to increase civic engagement among younger citizens and minorities through programs such as “Downtown Votes” which encourages citizens to vote in local elections. There is a strong spirit of community in Durham that citizens hope will continue to guide their political decision-making in the years to come.
The political climate in Zip 27712 (Durham, NC) is moderately liberal.
Durham County, NC is very liberal. In Durham County, NC 80.4% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 18.0% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.5% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Durham county remained overwhelmingly Democratic, 80.4% to 18.0%.
Durham county voted Democratic in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Zip 27712 (Durham, NC) is moderately liberal.
Durham, North Carolina is moderately liberal.
Durham County, North Carolina is very liberal.
Durham-Chapel Hill Metro Area is very liberal.
North Carolina is leaning conservative.
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.
Durham, North Carolina: 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 27712 (Durham)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 1,668 contributions totaling $145,383 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $87 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 443 contributions totaling $58,171 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $131 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)