Crane Lake leans slightly Democratic by roughly 10 points: about 55% of voters vote Democratic and 45% Republican.
About 37% of adults in Crane Lake typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Crane Lake, ~20% vote Democratic, ~17% Republican, and ~63% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Crane Lake compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Crane Lake is the most Democratic-leaning.
Crane Lake runs about 7 points more Democratic than Minnesota as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Crane Lake. The east side runs the most Democratic (D+15) and the west side runs the most Republican (R+31), a spread of about 46 points.
Why Crane Lake 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 Crane Lake, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 36% of adults in Crane Lake hold a bachelor's degree, about 8 points above the U.S. average of 28%.
Paved land cover and Republican lean
Places with little paved surface tend to lean Republican; Crane Lake, 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 Crane Lake looks the way it does
Crowded housing lines up with lower turnout. About 6% of homes in Crane Lake have more than one occupant per room, above 91% of cities. Strong routine healthcare access lines up with higher turnout, and Crane Lake sits in the top quarter on routine-care measures. High-crime urban areas turn out at lower rates, and Crane Lake sits in the top 15% on a violent-crime measure. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Buyck, MN R+5
- Cusson, MN R+27
- Orr, MN R+30
- Glendale, MN R+26
- Gheen, MN R+25
- Nett Lake, MN R+32
- Cook, MN R+22
- Greaney, MN R+29
- Silverdale, MN R+33
- Tower, MN D+4
Cities with Similar Populations
- Frisco, MO R+73
- Sharps, VA R+23
- Smyrna, IN R+50
- Sikesville, AL R+80
- Samantha, OH R+65
- Richmond, AL Even
- Rodney, AR R+61
- Boaz, WI R+25
- Rapides, LA R+21
- Pine Glen, PA R+61
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.