The small rural community of Dufur, OR (zip code 97021) is nestled in the scenic Columbia River Gorge and has a long history of political involvement in local affairs. Dufur is represented on the Wasco County Board of Commissioners by three elected officials who are responsible for making decisions on issues such as land use, taxes, public safety, infrastructure, economic development, and other matters that have an impact on the lives of local residents. In addition to the county representatives, Dufur also elects a mayor and five city council members who are responsible for maintaining municipal services and managing the annual budget. Local politics in Dufur also involve the Oregon State Legislature where two state senators and one state representative are chosen every two years to represent the interests of the citizens. At all levels of government in Dufur, citizen engagement is key to ensuring that elected officials make decisions that reflect community values and best serve their constituents.
The political climate in Zip 97021 (Dufur, OR) is somewhat conservative.
Wasco County, OR is leaning conservative. In Wasco County, OR 46.7% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 49.8% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 3.5% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Wasco county remained Republican, 49.8% to 46.7%.
Wasco county voted Republican in five of the last six Presidential elections (2008 went Democratic).
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Zip 97021 (Dufur, OR) is somewhat conservative.
Dufur, Oregon is somewhat conservative.
Wasco County, Oregon is leaning conservative.
The Dalles Metro Area is leaning conservative.
Oregon is moderately 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.
Dufur, Oregon: r r d 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 97021 (Dufur)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 6 contributions totaling $100 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $17 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 27 contributions totaling $4,102 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $152 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)