Lancaster, PA is the county seat of Lancaster County and has a population of 59,322. As the city's political center, it is home to many local and state government offices. The Lancaster City Council is composed of seven members who are elected for two-year terms in odd-numbered years. The mayor is also elected to a four-year term which starts in 2022. At the state level, the city is represented by three Republicans and two Democrats in the House of Representatives. The 23rd legislative district elects one Senator who serves as a part of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. In recent years, the political landscape of Lancaster has shifted towards more progressive candidates who are better able to represent its diverse population. In 2021, this was reflected in a significant number of progressive candidates winning local races in Lancaster City Council and at the state level for both parties. As such, Lancaster is now more than ever an example of how citizens can make their voices heard through their vote and shape their political reality.
The political climate in Zip 17602 (Lancaster, PA) is somewhat conservative.
Lancaster County, PA is somewhat conservative. In Lancaster County, PA 41.2% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 56.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.9% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Lancaster county remained very strongly Republican, 56.9% to 41.2%.
Lancaster county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Zip 17602 (Lancaster, PA) is somewhat conservative.
Lancaster, Pennsylvania is somewhat conservative.
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania is somewhat conservative.
Lancaster Metro Area is somewhat conservative.
Pennsylvania is leaning 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.
Lancaster, Pennsylvania: 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 17602 (Lancaster)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 2,391 contributions totaling $166,573 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $70 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 546 contributions totaling $110,945 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $203 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)