The city of Wilkes-Barre, PA is a bustling city located in the Luzerne County. With a rich history that dates back to pre-Colonial times, Wilkes-Barre has been an important part of Pennsylvania’s economic and political landscape for centuries. The politics in 18702 Wilkes-Barre, PA are centered on the local democratic party, with prominent elected officials such as Mayor Tony George and City Council President Mike Merritt. Both have been vocal about their support for responsible economic growth and quality of life improvements for all citizens of Wilkes-Barre. They have both worked to create an environment that encourages new businesses to come into the city while also protecting the jobs and homes of long time residents. Other initiatives include creating safer neighborhoods by implementing programs targeting crime prevention and promoting educational programs that aim to improve students’ chances for success.
The political climate in Zip 18702 (Wilkes-Barre, PA) is leaning conservative.
Luzerne County, PA is somewhat conservative. In Luzerne County, PA 42.3% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 56.6% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.1% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Luzerne county remained strongly Republican, 56.6% to 42.3%.
Luzerne county voted Republican in the two most recent Presidential elections, after voting Democratic in the previous four.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Zip 18702 (Wilkes-Barre, PA) is leaning conservative.
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania is leaning conservative.
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania is somewhat conservative.
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre 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.
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania: d d d d 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 18702 (Wilkes-Barre)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 1,153 contributions totaling $93,459 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $81 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 151 contributions totaling $53,071 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $351 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)