Portsmouth, Rhode Island is a small town located in the southern part of the state. It has a rich history and strong ties to its colonial past, having been first settled by English settlers in 1638. Despite its small size, Portsmouth has an active political scene with several local organizations working to serve the community. The Portsmouth Town Council is responsible for the government operations of the area and consists of seven members who are elected by residents every two years. The elected officials strive to meet the growing needs of the town while also preserving its historic character. Additionally, several local advocacy groups are active in Portsmouth, working on issues such as environmental conservation, education reform, and economic development. In recent years there have been several debates on topics such as affordable housing and access to medical care for everyone in the community. Local elections bring out candidates from both major parties looking to represent their constituents. Residents can be sure that their voice will be heard when it comes to making decisions that will shape the future of Portsmouth.
The political climate in Portsmouth, RI is somewhat liberal.
Newport County, RI is strongly liberal. In Newport County, RI 63.9% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 34.1% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.0% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Newport county remained overwhelmingly Democratic, 63.9% to 34.1%.
Newport county voted Democratic in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Portsmouth, RI is somewhat liberal.
Newport County, Rhode Island is strongly liberal.
Providence-Warwick Metro Area is moderately liberal.
Rhode Island 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.
Portsmouth, Rhode Island: 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 if the Democratic Party candidate won and I if the Independent Party candidate won. 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 Portsmouth, RI
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 3,470 contributions totaling $457,802 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $132 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 377 contributions totaling $73,593 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $195 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)