Since 2000, Harmony voters have sided with the winner in all 13 presidential and gubernatorial races.
“I do believe that the country is quite divided,” said town board Chair Jeff Klenz, sporting a long white goatee and wearing a Harley-Davidson T-shirt. “I don’t believe that same thing in Harmony Township. You don’t get the feeling of people being against each other.”
Klenz repeats a saying heard frequently around the town of 2,500: “Everybody lives in harmony in Harmony Township.”
Demographically, Harmony has the same percentage of white people as the state — about 86%. Almost 12% identified of Harmony residents identified as multiracial, above the statewide average of 2.2%. But there’s no Black population to speak of, in a state that’s 6% Black, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.
Despite the deep divisions in Harmony, both Republicans and Democrats say they don’t let politics drive how they treat one another.
“There are roots here that go down very deeply and they are roots of acceptance, respect and cooperation,” said 85-year-old retired nurse and Biden voter Lucille Vickerman, seated next to Trump voter Klenz.
It’s a small town in a swing state that doesn’t lean heavily to either side of the political spectrum. It’s nothing special. Given how many small towns exist, it would be weirder to not have any that voted with the majority in the last several elections.