Politics are becoming more and more important these days, and many people identify a lot with certain political ideals and want to know if those around them have the same ideals. Do Jacksonville residents tend to be liberal or conservative?
Jacksonville, FL is not liberal but is moderately conservative. The city voted for the Republican candidate in every election but one since 2000. Duvall county is also moderately conservative, and Florida is a swing state that leans more conservative than liberal.
There are many factors to the political climate of a city. When figuring out which way a city leans politically, it is important to consider the results of presidential elections, local leaders, the policies that are supported, and the demographics.
Presidential Elections
The results of presidential elections in an area are a big indicator of whether the city is liberal or conservative. The two major political parties in the United States represent the liberal and conservative mindsets. The Democratic party has mostly liberal members and the party supports liberal policies.
The Republican party has mostly conservative members and supports conservative policies. If the majority of residents in a city vote for the Democratic candidate, the city is mostly liberal. If the majority of residents vote for the Republican candidate, the city is mostly conservative.
Florida is a swing state
. Most states can be counted on to vote for either the Democratic candidate or the Republican candidate. However, swing states have enough of a balance between consistently liberal voters and consistently conservative voters that the election can go either way. The results of an election generally come down to the swing states and which way they end up leaning.
Florida residents do tend to vote for the Republican candidate over the Democratic candidate. From 2000 to 2020, four of the six elections in Florida went to the Republican candidate. The difference between the percentages of Republican and Democratic candidates was less than 5% in all elections. The highest percentage difference was 5% in 2004, and the lowest percentage difference was 0.1% in 2000.
In the 2020 election, 51.2% of Florida residents voted for the Republican candidate, and 47.9% voted for the Democratic candidate. The difference between the percentages was 3.3%, the third highest after 2004 and 2016.
Duval County, the county in which Jacksonville is in, is moderately conservative. The county voted for the Republican candidate in every election since 2000 except the 2020 election. In 2000 and 2004, the difference between the percentages was over 15%, but in every other election, the difference was less than 5%. The highest difference was 16.75% in 2000, while the lowest was 1.36% in 2016.
In the 2020 election, 51.11% of Duval County residents voted for the Democratic candidate, and 47.3% of residents voted for the Republican candidate. The difference between the percentages was 3.81%, which was the third highest difference after 2000 and 2004.
Jacksonville, like its county, is moderately conservative. From 2000 to 2016, the majority of residents voted for the Republican candidate. In 2020, the Democratic candidate won in Jacksonville. In 2000 and 2004, the differences between the percentages were larger than 10%, but in every other year after, the differences were smaller than 10%. Jacksonville has percentages that are comparable to those of Duval County. Jacksonville has grown less and less conservative over the years but is still considered moderately conservative.
From 2018 to 2021, there were 23,816 contributions to the Democratic party in Jacksonville, adding up to $3,932,913. In contrast, there were only 11,338 contributions to the Republican party during that same time period, totaling $8,390,766. Though there were twice as many contributions to the Democratic party, the Republican party brought in more money. This is because the average donation amounts to the Republican party were over 4 times higher than those to the Democratic party.
Local Leaders
The local leaders of a city are another factor in the political climate. These are officials that the residents elected to represent them because of their political beliefs and promises. The political affiliations, campaign platforms, and policies are all indicators of the political leanings of a local leader, and therefore of a city.
Mayor
The current mayor of Jacksonville is in charge of proposing a budget, enacting legislation, appointing certain government employees, and overseeing the operations of the city. The mayor is the face of the city, representing the city and its residents in larger matters.
The current mayor of Jacksonville is Lenny Curry. He was elected in 2015 and reelected in 2019. His current term will end in 2023. He won narrowly in 2015 with 51.3% of the vote, with 5,273 more votes than his Democratic competitor. In 2019, he won by a landslide with 57.6% of the vote and 49,179 more votes than the candidate with the second highest number of votes. He clearly had a significant amount of support after his first term.
Mayor Curry has focused his time in office on improving public safety by increasing law enforcement, fostering economic development by attracting businesses, and holding local leadership accountable by closely managing taxes.
Mayor Curry is a member of the Republican party. He was a Florida delegate at the 2016 Republican National Convention. He was also the chairman of the Republican Party of Florida for some time. Mayor Curry’s policy implementations also show a conservative mindset.
City Council
The Jacksonville City Council is responsible for adopting the city budget, approving appointees to the mayor, imposing taxes, and changing or creating city laws.
The Jacksonville City Council has 19 members. Five members are elected by the city as a whole, while fourteen are each elected by one of Jacksonville’s 14 districts. All five of the at-large elected members are members of the Republican party. Of the fourteen remaining, five are Democratic, but the rest belong to the Republican party. The fact that the majority of City Council members are Republican reveals the conservative nature of the city.
Policies
The policies that a city supports can also be a factor in its political climate. Some policies are more likely to be supported by liberals or conservatives. Legal abortion, more gun control laws, and legal same-sex marriage are all more likely to be supported by liberals and opposed by conservatives.
Abortion
Abortions in Florida must be performed 24 weeks after the last menstrual period except if the patient is in danger. Patients must receive state-directed counseling and an ultrasound before getting an abortion. Health plans and public funding cannot cover abortions unless there is life endangerment, rape, or incest involved. The parents of a minor must consent before that minor can receive an abortion.
As of 2017, there were 85 facilities in Florida that provide abortions, 65 of which were clinics. 73% of Florida counties did not have clinics, leaving 24% of Florida women without access to an abortion clinic.
Jacksonville residents tend to support an increase in abortion laws, making it harder for women to receive abortions.
Gun Control Laws
In 2020, Florida had the 29th highest gun death rate in the United States and the 17th lowest crime gun export rate. Florida gun laws include minimum age laws, waiting periods, open carry regulations, child access prevention laws, a background check period, and state database background checks. Florida gun laws do not include universal background checks, gun owner licensing, domestic violence gun laws, assault weapons, large capacity magazine restrictions concealed carry law, and lost/stolen firearm reporting.
Jacksonville residents tend to support the limited amount of gun control laws in Florida.
Same-Sex Marriage
Same-sex marriage became legal in Florida on January 6, 2015. This was about five months before the Supreme Court mandate requiring all states to legalize same-sex marriage. Florida was the 36th state to legalize same-sex marriage. Jacksonville residents tended to oppose the legalization of same-sex marriage.
Demographics
The population of Jacksonville is 920,570 people. The population density is 1,231 people per square mile. 51.6% of the population are male and 48.4% are female. the median age is 35.6 and the average number of people per household is 2.6.
The racial makeup of Jacksonville is as follows:
- White: 52.5%
- Black: 30.6%
- Hispanic/Latino: 9.1%
- Asian: 4.7%
- Native American: 0.2%
- Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0.1%
- Two or More: 2.7%
- Other: 0.2%
46.5% of Jacksonville residents are married, and 13.9% are divorced. 27.7% of Jacksonville residents are married with children and 20.8% are single with children.
The average income of Jacksonville residents is $25,496 per year. The median household income is $46,786 per year. The unemployment rate is 4.9%. The sales tax rate is 7.0% and there is no income tax.
89% of Jacksonville residents are high school graduates, and 22.9% are only high school graduates. 18.8% have two-year degrees, 27.5% have four-year degrees, 1.6% have master’s degrees, and 0.7% have professional degrees.
56.2% of Jacksonville residents are religious. 54.2% are Christian, 0.6% are Jewish, 0.7% are of the eastern faith, and 0.7% are affiliated with Islam.
The rate of violent crime in Jacksonville on a scale of 1 to 100 is 33.9. The rate of property crime on that same scale is 52.9.
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