56659 leans Republican by roughly 16 points: about 42% of voters vote Democratic and 58% Republican.
About 55% of adults in 56659 typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in 56659, ~23% vote Democratic, ~32% Republican, and ~45% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How 56659 compares
Among zip codes within 15 miles, 56659 is the least Republican-leaning.
56659 runs about 21 points more Republican than Minnesota as a whole. Minnesota leans Democratic overall, while 56659 is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Why 56659 leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per zip code to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for 56659, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural areas vote Republican. About 2% of residents in 56659 live in densely developed areas, about 22 points below the Minnesota average of 23%. 56659 runs against the grain of Minnesota, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Paved land cover and Republican lean
Places with little paved surface tend to lean Republican; 56659, MN sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Paved ground does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban and built-up a place is.
Why turnout in 56659 looks the way it does
High-crime urban areas turn out at lower rates, mostly because the housing stress common in those areas makes voting harder. 56659 sits in the top 15% nationally on a violent-crime measure. See CrimeGrade for more details. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Zip Codes
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Minnesota Secretary of State, Elections, distributed by the Voting and Election Science Team. Demographic inputs come from the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-year estimates and the 2020 Decennial Census). Health and environmental inputs come from the CDC (PLACES and the Environmental Justice Index). Land cover comes from the USGS and EPA. Election-day and lead-up weather come from PRISM 4km daily grids and the NOAA Global Historical Climatology Network. Mail-voting and election-administration patterns come from the MIT Election Lab's Survey of the Performance of American Elections. Block-group crime detail comes from CrimeGrade. Internet data and modeling support provided by ISPreports.org.
Modeling and analysis by the BestNeighborhood data science team. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.
Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.