Wisconsin Rapids, WI is a small city located in Wood County with a population of 18,435. It has its own local government system and holds elections for mayor and city council members every four years. Wisconsin Rapids is a part of the Wisconsin state political system, which means that the citizens of this city have the opportunity to vote for state-wide politicians such as governors and senators. The current mayor is Shane Blaser who is running for his second term in 2021. In addition to the mayor, there are eight city council members that are elected from specific districts during each election cycle. These elected officials are responsible for making decisions on how to best allocate resources to improve the quality of life in Wisconsin Rapids. Over the past several years, the local government has worked to invest in infrastructure and public parks while also providing funding for schools and other community programs. Additionally, they have also supported initiatives like economic development and business growth within the city limits. Through all these efforts, Wisconsin Rapids has become an increasingly prosperous place to live.
The political climate in Zip 54494 (Wisconsin Rapids, WI) is moderately conservative.
Wood County, WI is moderately conservative. In Wood County, WI 39.6% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 58.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.5% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Wood county remained very strongly Republican, 58.9% to 39.6%.
Wood county voted Republican in five of the last six Presidential elections (2008 went Democratic).
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Zip 54494 (Wisconsin Rapids, WI) is moderately conservative.
Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin is moderately conservative.
Wood County, Wisconsin is moderately conservative.
Wisconsin Rapids-Marshfield Metro Area is moderately conservative.
Wisconsin 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.
Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin: 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 54494 (Wisconsin Rapids)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 552 contributions totaling $70,872 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $128 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 413 contributions totaling $73,861 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $179 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)