Capitol Park leans heavily Democratic by roughly 34 points: about 67% of voters vote Democratic and 33% Republican.
About 44% of adults in Capitol Park typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Capitol Park, ~30% vote Democratic, ~15% Republican, and ~55% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Capitol Park compares
Among neighborhoods within 5 miles, Capitol Park leans more Democratic than 15 of 19 neighbors.
Capitol Park runs about 47 points more Democratic than Iowa as a whole. Iowa leans Republican overall, while Capitol Park is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.
Why Capitol Park leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per neighborhood to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Capitol Park, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Capitol Park votes against the grain of Iowa. Iowa leans Republican overall, while Capitol Park runs about 47 points more Democratic.
Preventive-care access and voter turnout
Places with limited routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a lower rate; Capitol Park, Des Moines, IA sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure. Dental visits do not drive turnout; the rate reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access, which line up with who votes.
Why turnout in Capitol Park looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Capitol Park is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 49%, about 18 points below the Iowa average of 68%. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 35% of adults in Capitol Park report food insecurity, above 88% of neighborhoods. High-crime urban areas turn out at lower rates, and Capitol Park sits in the top 15% on a violent-crime measure. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Neighborhoods
- Union Park, Des Moines, IA D+15
- River Bend, Des Moines, IA D+45
- Downtown Des Moines, Des Moines, IA D+53
- Highland Park, Des Moines, IA D+19
- Fairground, Des Moines, IA D+19
- Fairmont Park, Des Moines, IA D+7
- Accent, Des Moines, IA D+9
- Oak Park, Des Moines, IA D+27
- Indianola Hills, Des Moines, IA D+15
- Drake, Des Moines, IA D+50
Neighborhoods with Similar Populations
- Rancho Dominguez, Compton, CA D+39
- Emerald Lake-Miami, Lake Worth, FL D+30
- Historic Montford, Asheville, NC D+72
- Oakland Beach, Warwick, RI D+5
- Academy Hills Park, Albuquerque, NM D+13
- Caprock, Lubbock, TX R+18
- Columbia San Diego, San Diego, CA D+37
- Fairview, Charlotte, NC R+60
- Scenic Bluff, Fort Worth, TX D+21
- Burrage, Hanson, MA Even
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.