Buena Vista leans Democratic by roughly 16 points: about 58% of voters vote Democratic and 42% Republican.
About 68% of adults in Buena Vista typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Buena Vista, ~39% vote Democratic, ~29% Republican, and ~32% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Buena Vista compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Buena Vista leans more Democratic than 16 of 30 neighbors.
Buena Vista runs about 10 points more Democratic than New Mexico as a whole.
Why Buena Vista leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per city to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Buena Vista, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 31% of adults in Buena Vista hold a bachelor's degree, above 75% of cities. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 37% of adults in Buena Vista have never been married, above 91% of cities.
Renting and voter turnout
Places with homeowner-heavy households tend to turn out at a higher rate; Buena Vista, NM sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Buena Vista looks the way it does
Homeowners vote more often than renters. More than 99% of households in Buena Vista own their home, about 20 points above the New Mexico average of 80%. Limited routine healthcare access lines up with lower turnout, and Buena Vista sits in the bottom quarter on routine-care measures. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- North Carmen, NM D+21
- South Carmen, NM D+23
- Golondrinas, NM D+14
- Rainsville, NM D+15
- Penasco Blanco, NM D+23
- Mora, NM D+26
- Manuelitas, NM D+13
- Rociada, NM D+15
Cities with Similar Populations
- Hagan, MN R+38
- Martinsville, KY R+67
- Gu Oidak, AZ D+79
- Blue Grass, VA R+44
- Kurtz, IN R+66
- Willow, IL R+40
- Pyro, OH R+66
- Land, AL R+72
- Union Center, SD R+83
- Milltown, AR R+75
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from New Mexico Secretary of State, Bureau of 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.