The small town of Wheaton, MN, located in 56296, is known for its family friendly atmosphere and small-town charm. The politics in the town are quite subdued and local elections usually have very low levels of participation. This can be attributed to the fact that the population of Wheaton is relatively small and most citizens are well acquainted with each other and their political beliefs. The candidates that run for office are often long-time residents with strong ties to the community who have a clear understanding of what matters most to those living there. With few contentious issues on the ballot, most elections tend to be uncontested or draw only token opposition. This makes the political process in Wheaton comfortable and easygoing, allowing everyone in the community to participate without fear of divisiveness or conflict.
The political climate in Zip 56296 (Wheaton, MN) is moderately conservative.
Traverse County, MN is strongly conservative. In Traverse County, MN 35.5% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 62.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.7% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Traverse county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 62.9% to 35.5%.
Traverse county voted Republican in four of the six previous Presidential elections (2008 and 2012 went Democratic).
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Zip 56296 (Wheaton, MN) is moderately conservative.
Wheaton, Minnesota is moderately conservative.
Traverse County, Minnesota is strongly conservative.
Not Found Metro Area is 0.
Minnesota 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.
Wheaton, Minnesota: r r 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 56296 (Wheaton)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 6 contributions totaling $3,438 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $573 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 13 contributions totaling $6,387 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $491 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)