Cambridge leans Republican by roughly 26 points: about 37% of voters vote Democratic and 63% Republican.
About 77% of adults in Cambridge typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Cambridge, ~28% vote Democratic, ~49% Republican, and ~23% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Cambridge compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Cambridge leans more Republican than 24 of 61 neighbors.
Cambridge runs about 12 points more Republican than Iowa as a whole.
Why Cambridge 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 Cambridge, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Car-dependent areas vote Republican. About 88% of residents in Cambridge drive to work alone, about 14 points above the U.S. average of 74%.
Food insecurity and voter turnout
Places with low food insecurity tend to turn out at a higher rate; Cambridge, IA sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Food insecurity does not directly drive turnout; it reflects economic hardship, which lines up with lower voting.
Why turnout in Cambridge looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Cambridge is in the top quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 74%, about 14 points above the U.S. average of 60%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 97% of adults in Cambridge have completed high school, above 87% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Midvale, IA R+26
- Huxley, IA R+19
- Enterprise, IA R+34
- Shipley, IA R+11
- Iowa Center, IA R+29
- Kelley, IA R+10
- Maxwell, IA R+33
- Elkhart, IA R+34
- Alleman, IA R+34
- Slater, IA R+10
Cities with Similar Populations
- Scottsville, TX R+35
- Whitehead Crossroads, FL R+66
- Dammeron Valley, UT R+56
- Sedalia, KY R+67
- Sulphur Rock, AR R+68
- Schroeder, TX R+73
- Leavenworth, IN R+48
- Marne, OH R+55
- Lakewood Village, TX R+25
- Erving, MA D+4
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Iowa 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.