There are always a wide variety of activities, restaurants, businesses, activities, people, and even political views when present in a large city like Minneapolis. Large cities do, however, tend to show more liberalism than conservatism.
Minneapolis, Minnesota is not a conservative city. The Democratic Party majority, gun laws, abortion views, climate change policies, financial contributions, elected government officials, and recent voting trends are all indications of the strongly liberal views among Minneapolis residents.
Many laws and efforts within Minneapolis show that the city is liberal rather than conservative. Residents support government officers and laws that will reflect their political views.
Climate Change
Liberals support good care of the environment. They advocate limited use of fossil fuels and of gas emissions. Their efforts increase the use of renewable resources and encourage all that will help to care for the environment.
Minneapolis has a Climate Action Plan
with goals for the present and future efforts to limit gas emissions and help the city be more environmentally friendly. One of the largest goals is to decrease the gas emissions of the entire city by 80% before 2050. In addition to the reduction of gas emissions, the city is also working to produce less waste. By 2025, Minneapolis plans to keep the total waste generation flat, reach a 15% composting rate within the waste system, and increase the recycling rate of the city’s waste to 50%.
The city plans to build new roads and bicycle-friendly areas throughout the city. Their goal in this effort is to raise the percentage of bicycle commuters to 15% by 2025, limiting the use of gas and exhaust released by car commuters.
Cities that have detailed climate action plans and spend large amounts of funds and efforts on making the city more environmentally friendly are most commonly liberal. Minneapolis is a liberal city and shows incredibly high support for all efforts to combat climate change and decrease the city’s carbon footprint.
Voting Statistics
A Democratic majority in voting statistics and trends shows liberalism, and a Republican majority shows a higher conservative population. The city of Minneapolis has a strong Democratic and liberal community. The city has voted Democratic in every election since the year 2000. Consulting recent voting statistics and political party majorities within the votes is an excellent indication of the city’s political views.
An incredible 70.5% of Minneapolis voters supported the Democratic Party candidate in the 2020 presidential election. Only 27% of the city’s participating residents voted for the Republican Party candidate. The remaining 2.3% voted Independent in the election.
There is a strong Democratic majority in Hennepin County. There is a 70% support rate for these liberal views, which accounts for well over half of the population. This is a huge percentage of people supporting one party, and that looks intimidating to the people who vote otherwise. So, if you are thinking about moving here, then you should definitely know the voting habits of the residents in the city.
You may find yourself among people who think similarly to you, but you may also have people who dislike your opinions and that can be a small or large personal issue depending on who it is. Some people are tolerant of other views, and other people are not tolerant and have a hard time with others’ opinions. People like this exist in every political party, so if you are new to the area, build friendships and trust with people before discussing your political beliefs so that you can have a relationship that isn’t founded on your political beliefs.
Abortion Views
There is high support for legalizing abortion procedures in the city of Minneapolis. The state of Minnesota has protected abortion rights since a trial was held in 1995 on the subject. Many other states lack laws that provide the right to legal abortion procedures within the state, but abortions had been considered a legal right under the US Constitution since the Roe v Wade case was held in 1973.
In June of 2022, the US Supreme court announced that the Roe v Wade decision would be overturned. This means that each of the 50 states in the US is now legally able to legalize or ban abortion policies with the majority vote of their state. Abortion supporters around the nation were outraged and highly concerned for the future of abortion rights within their home states and across the nation. But, those who support the pro-life movement, were thrilled and joyous at this notion.
Minneapolis is poised to provide an abortion “safe haven” for many American citizens. All four of the states surrounding Minnesota have banned or restricted abortions considerably since the announcement was made. This means that those seeking abortions in North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Iowa will need to leave their home state to receive the procedure. Minnesota, and more specifically the large city of Minneapolis, has easily accessible locations for these people to get an abortion. The city not only supports abortion rights for its residents but for all who seek them.
Upon hearing the US Supreme Court announcement, protests and rallies were held throughout the nation. One such protest was organized by a group of University of Minnesota students and gathered 10,000 people who marched to the Diana E. Murphy US Courthouse that very day. They gathered and marched with posters and signs expressing their disapproval of this national change.
This is an incredibly large number of people within the city who gathered to support legal abortion rights. There were also several other protests held throughout the following days, weeks, and even months after the announcement was made.
Financial Contributions to Political Campaigns
In addition to voting statistics, the financial contributions made to political campaigns can show the political party majority in a city. Minneapolis has a strong Democratic majority in voting statistics and shows support to the party in the number of financial contributions and total funds as well.
Starting in 2018 and until 2021, there were a total of 77,339 individual contributions made to the Democratic Party and liberal political campaigns within Minneapolis. These Democratic Party and liberal campaigns received a grand total of $14,009,245 during this period of time. Each contribution was an average of $181.
We can see the voting statics come into play here. If 70% of Minneapolis voters vote Democrat in this city, then it is no wonder that the Democrat Party receives so much money in donations. Now, below let’s compare this to the Republican Party’s campaign efforts.
The Republican Party and conservative campaigns received considerably less in contributions and dollar amounts. In the same time period, the Republican Party and conservative campaigns received 4,024 contributions and only $2,221,334 within the city of Minneapolis. Each contribution was about $552.
As previously stated, the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota is not a conservative city. The community shows high liberal support rates. The Democratic Party and liberal campaigns within the city received 73,316 more contributions and $11,787,911 more in monetary value over the last few years. The Republican Party and conservative parties received incredibly little support in comparison. As the numbers show, liberal views are highly favored over opposing conservative beliefs within the city.
Gun Laws
Conservatives work to protect Americans’ right to bear arms and encourage weak gun laws. This is because they believe that if criminals can get guns illegally, then good people who need guns for protection won’t be able to protect themselves against those who already have guns. Liberals, however, advocate strict gun laws that keep firearms in the hands of law enforcement officers rather than regular citizens.
In Minneapolis, Mayor Frey supports strict gun laws and policies within the city. Recently, police efforts to remove illegal guns within the city are being increased drastically. The intent of this removal is to decrease and eventually end gun violence and homicides within the city. The police chief of the city reported that officers successfully removed 1,000 guns from the streets around June of 2021. This is an incredible feat, especially when considering that the force lost nearly one-third of its staff in this same time period.
The goal for this year is to continue to remove as many illegal firearms from within citizen possession as possible. New reports show that the officers of Minneapolis are on the streets and hard at work protecting the city from harm presently, and in the future.
Increased efforts to limit gun ownership among citizens show liberal views and support. The city of Minneapolis is highly liberal and consistently supports liberal efforts over conservative alternatives. If you are thinking about moving here, then you should think about what core values your city needs to have for you to live comfortably and happily in it.
While living in Minneapolis, you will definitely find people who think similarly to you when it comes to politics, no matter what political party you support. However, if you tend to lean conservative, you will likely struggle to find people that think similarly while living in the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
