In 1940, Norristown, Pennsylvania was a bustling small town that was home to a diverse population of around 16,000 people. The politics in Norristown were largely dominated by the Democratic Party. During this time period, prominent local politicians included Joseph Firth and John G. Kennedy, both of whom served as Mayor of Norristown from 1938-1942. Other local figures who made their mark on the political landscape included Judge John Coughlin and James J. Malone. These individuals all played a major role in shaping the politics of Norristown during this era. The town was also well known for its strong labor movement and had close ties to political organizations such as the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) and the American Federation of Labor (AFL). With an involved citizenry and a dedication to progressive causes, Norristown was an exciting political hub at the time.
The political climate in Zip 19401 (Norristown, PA) is moderately liberal.
Montgomery County, PA is strongly liberal. In Montgomery County, PA 62.4% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 36.2% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.4% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Montgomery county remained overwhelmingly Democratic, 62.4% to 36.2%.
Montgomery county voted Democratic in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Zip 19401 (Norristown, PA) is moderately liberal.
Norristown, Pennsylvania is moderately liberal.
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania is strongly liberal.
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington Metro Area is strongly liberal.
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.
Norristown, Pennsylvania: 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 19401 (Norristown)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 1,073 contributions totaling $57,637 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $54 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 181 contributions totaling $24,696 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $136 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)