Reading, PA is located in Berks County and has a rich history of political involvement. In 19606, the city was governed by a mayor-council form of government, with each council member elected from one of seven wards. The mayor at the time was Henry L. Guernsey, who had held the office since 1951. Reading's Democratic leaders were powerful in both local and state politics during this period. They had a strong influence on many issues that faced Reading including labor issues, education, and industrial development. During this time period there were many political candidates running for office in Reading, ranging from local city offices to congressional seats. All candidates were vying for power and influence within the community and faced tough competition from opponents of all political backgrounds. It was an interesting time in the political life of Reading as it transitioned into a larger urban center during the 1960s.
The political climate in Zip 19606 (Reading, PA) is somewhat conservative.
Berks County, PA is leaning conservative. In Berks County, PA 45.1% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 53.2% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.7% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Berks county remained moderately Republican, 53.2% to 45.1%.
Berks county voted Republican in five of the last six Presidential elections (2008 went Democratic).
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Zip 19606 (Reading, PA) is somewhat conservative.
Reading, Pennsylvania is somewhat conservative.
Berks County, Pennsylvania is leaning conservative.
Reading Metro Area is leaning 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.
Reading, Pennsylvania: 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 19606 (Reading)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 1,164 contributions totaling $221,090 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $190 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 267 contributions totaling $31,174 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $117 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)