Politics is the source of a lot of controversies these days, and many people want those around them to have the same political beliefs as they do. If you live in Lexington, Kentucky, will your neighbors be more likely to be liberal or conservative?
Lexington, Kentucky is a liberal city. The city voted for the Democratic candidate in four of the last six presidential elections. Fayette County, the county that Lexington is in, is also a relatively liberal area, but the state of Kentucky is moderately conservative.
There are a lot of factors that contribute to the political climate of a city. Looking at the results of presidential elections, the local leaders, the supported policies, and the demographics of Lexington can give us an idea of whether it is liberal or conservative.
Presidential Elections
The results of presidential elections in a city are a big indicator of the political climate of the city. The two major political parties in the United States, the Democratic party and the Republican party, represent the liberal and conservative perspectives.
The Democratic party supports liberal policies and has mostly liberal members, while the Republican party supports conservative policies and has mostly conservative members. If the majority of residents in a city vote for the Democratic candidate, the city is mostly liberal. If the majority vote for the Republican candidate, the city is mostly conservative.
The winner of the election needs to be taken into account as well as the amount that they won by. In each election, there are a certain percentage of votes for the Republican candidate and a certain percentage of votes for the Democratic candidate. The difference between these percentages is the amount that the winning candidate won by. If the difference is high, the public is firmly in favor of either the Democratic or Republican candidate, meaning that the city is solidly liberal or conservative. If the difference is low, the city is close to being evenly split between liberal and conservative.
Kentucky is a moderately conservative state
. The majority of residents voted for the Republican candidate in every election since 2000. The differences between the percentage of Republican and Democratic votes in each election were between 15% and 30%. The lowest difference was 15.1% in 2000, and the highest difference was 29.8% in 2016.
In the 2020 election, 62.1% of residents voted for the Republican candidate and 36.2% voted for the Democratic candidate. The difference between the percentages was 25.9%, which was the second highest during that time after 2016.
Fayette County, the county that Lexington is in, is a relatively liberal area. The Democratic candidate won in four of the six elections since 2000. The difference between the percentages of Democratic and Republican votes was less than 10% every year except in 2020. The lowest difference was 1.02% in 2012, and the highest difference was 20.76% in 2020.
In the 2020 presidential election, 59.25% of Fayette County residents voted for the Democratic candidate, while 38.49% voted for the Republican candidate. The difference was 20.76%, which was over twice as high as the difference in any other election since 2000.
Lexington, like Fayette County and unlike the state of Kentucky, is relatively liberal. The city voted for the Republican candidate in 2000 and 2004 but has voted for the Democratic candidate in every election since. The difference between the percentages was lower than 10% every year except in 2020. The differences and percentages are comparable to those of Fayette County.
From 2018 to 2021, there were 28,369 contributions to the Democratic party in Lexington. This added up to $6,755,584. In that same time frame, there were 7,650 contributions to the Republican party, totaling $7,928,980. Though there were almost 4 times more contributions to the Democratic party, the Republican party made more money. This is because, on average, the donations to the Republican party were about four times higher than those given to the Democratic party.
Local Leaders
The local leaders of a city represent the political climate of the city. The people elected their leaders based on their beliefs and promises. The party affiliations, enacted policies, and campaign platforms of the local leaders of Lexington can show us whether it is liberal or conservative.
Mayor
The mayor of Lexington is an important elected official. The mayor represents the city in state, national, and international matters. The mayor also proposes a budget, signs legislation, appoints certain government employees, and oversees the operations of the city.
The current mayor of Lexington is Linda Gorton. She was elected in 2019. Her current term will end in 2023, but she is running for reelection. She won the general election in 2019 with 62.6% of the votes, which was 27,115 more votes than the second-place candidate. Though the next election has not taken place yet, she won the nonpartisan primary with 71.1% of the vote with 26,228 votes.
Mayor Gorton’s focus in office has been on supporting the economy, keeping citizens safe from COVID-19, and eliminating systemic racism.
Mayor Gorton is technically nonpartisan. However, she has been known to be affiliated with the Republican party, though she considers herself independent. The policies that she has enacted and supported suggest a slightly more conservative mindset.
City Council
The Lexington City Council is a board of elected officials that make up the legislative part of the Lexington government. There are 15 city council members in Lexington. 3 of the city council members are elected by the whole city and serve 4-year terms. The other 12 city council members are each elected by one of the city’s 12 districts, and they each serve 2-year terms.
All of the members of the Lexington City Council are considered nonpartisan. However, the policies that have been enacted by the city council suggested that the city council has a liberal majority.
Policies
The policies that the residents of the city support can give you a window into the political climate of the city. There are certain policies that are more likely to be supported or opposed by liberals or conservatives. Fewer abortion restrictions, more gun control laws, and legal same-sex marriage are all more likely to be supported by liberals and opposed by conservatives.
Abortion
In Kentucky, abortions must take place in the first trimester unless the patient’s life is in danger. Patients must receive counseling and ultrasound at least 24 hours before getting an abortion. Private insurance policies, health plans, insurance policies for public employees, and public funding cannot cover abortions except in cases of life endangerment, rape, or incest. The parents of a minor must consent before that minor can receive an abortion, and abortion clinics must adhere to high standards.
As of 2017, there were 3 facilities providing abortions in Kentucky, one of which was a clinic. This was a 50% decline from 2014. 99% of Kentucky counties do not have an abortion clinic, leaving 82% of Kentucky women without access to an abortion clinic.
Residents of Lexington tend to support a decrease in abortion laws, which is consistent with a liberal perspective.
Gun Control Laws
Kentucky had the 13th-highest gun death rate in 2020 and the 8th-highest crime gun export rate. Kentucky gun laws include child access prevention laws. Kentucky gun laws do not include universal background checks, gun owner licensing, domestic violence gun laws, assault weapons and large capacity magazine restrictions, waiting periods, or concealed and open carry regulations.
Lexington residents tend to support an increase in gun control laws, which is consistent with a liberal perspective.
Same-Sex Marriage
Kentucky legalized same-sex marriage on June 26, 2015, and was among the last states to do so. This was the day when the Supreme Court mandate required all states to legalize same-sex marriage. Lexington residents tended to support the legalization of same-sex marriage.
Demographics
The population of Lexington is about 324,735 people. The population density is about 1,145 people per square mile. 51.0% of people are female and 49.0% are male. The median age is 34 and the average number of people per household is 2.6.
The racial makeup of Lexington is as follows:
- White: 71.8%
- Black: 14.3%
- Hispanic/Latino: 7.0%
- Asian: 3.6%
- Native American: 0.2%
- Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0.1%
- Two or More Races: 2.8%
- Other: 0.3%
45.2% of Lexington residents are married and 12.9% are divorced. 31.5% of residents are married with children and 18.6% are single with children.
The average income in Lexington is $29,168 per year. The median household income is $48,667 per year. The unemployment rate is 4.3%. The sales tax rate is 6.0%, and the income tax rate is 8.6%.
90.5% of Lexington residents are high school graduates and 20.3% are only high school graduates. 23.9% of residents have two-year degrees, 41.8% have four-year degrees, 3.5% have master’s degrees, and 2.9% have professional degrees.
53.6% of Lexington residents are religious. 52.5% of residents are Christian, 0.5% are Jewish, 0.2% are of an eastern faith, and 0.2% are affiliated with Islam.
The rate of violent crime in Lexington on a scale of 1 to 100 is 22.0. The rate of property crime on the same scale is 55.8. The rate of violent crime is lower than the national average, but the rate of property crime is higher than the national average.
