Salinas, CA Politics: Is It Liberal or Conservative?

Election Results and Trends in Salinas, CA

In the last Presidential election, Salinas, CA voted predominantly Democrat, with 69.5% of voters casting their ballot for Biden, while 28.2% of voters in Salinas voted for Trump, and other parties voting 2.2%. Based on these voting patterns, Salinas is considered a very liberal city. Specifically, it ranks 59th out of the most populated 333 cities in the United States in terms of liberalism based on the 2020 Presidential election results. Conversely, when looking at the conservative voting patterns in the 2020 election, Salinas ranks 274th out of the 333 most populated cities, indicating a relatively low conservative vote.

Presidential Elections Voting Trend

The last six Presidential election results (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020) for Salinas, CA are: D D D D D D

Salinas has consistently favored Democrat candidates in Presidential elections over the past 25 years: 1996: Clinton (D) over Dole (R) 2000, 2004: Gore (D) and Kerry (D) over Bush (R) 2008, 2012: Obama (D) over McCain (R) and Romney (R) 2016, 2020: Clinton (D) and Biden (D) over Trump (R) The city's preference for liberal candidates aligns with California's overall Democrat inclination.

Local Elections

Local/city-level elections in Salinas have shown a trend of supporting Democrat and progressive candidates. Local elections, often nonpartisan, focus on issues rather than party alignment, yet liberal stances on social and economic issues have typically prevailed.