The city of Salem, Oregon (97302) is the state capital and home to a diverse population of 172,000 people. Salem has a strong political history with progressive and conservative elements represented across its many neighborhoods. In recent years, the local political scene has been dominated by Democratic candidates in both state and federal races. The most recent election saw Democratic Governor Kate Brown win re-election with 64% of the vote. On the federal level, U.S Representative Kurt Schrader won a fifth consecutive term while Senator Jeff Merkley also won re-election. At the county level, Marion County Sheriff Jason Myers was elected in 2018 as well as other key county positions being filled by Democrats such as Commissioner Kevin Cameron and District Attorney Paige Clarkson. With multiple mayoral elections this year, Salem is sure to see dynamic shifts in its political landscape that will shape the future of the city for years to come.
The political climate in Zip 97302 (Salem, OR) is leaning liberal.
Marion County, OR is leaning liberal. In Marion County, OR 48.9% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 47.7% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 3.4% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Marion county flipped narrowly Democratic, 48.9% to 47.7%.
Marion county flipped Democratic in 2020, after voting Republican in four of the last six Presidential elections.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Zip 97302 (Salem, OR) is leaning liberal.
Salem, Oregon is leaning liberal.
Marion County, Oregon is leaning liberal.
Salem Metro Area is leaning liberal.
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.
Salem, Oregon: 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 97302 (Salem)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 6,371 contributions totaling $402,368 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $63 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 449 contributions totaling $97,037 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $216 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)