DeSoto leans Republican by roughly 22 points: about 39% of voters vote Democratic and 61% Republican.
About 76% of adults in DeSoto typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in DeSoto, ~30% vote Democratic, ~46% Republican, and ~24% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How DeSoto compares
Among cities within 25 miles, DeSoto leans more Republican than 34 of 64 neighbors.
DeSoto runs about 5 points more Republican than Kansas as a whole.
Why DeSoto 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 DeSoto, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
DeSoto votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 37%, well above the Kansas average of 19%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 76% of households in DeSoto are family households, above 77% of cities.
Food insecurity and voter turnout
Places with low food insecurity tend to turn out at a higher rate; DeSoto, KS sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure. Food insecurity does not directly drive turnout; it reflects economic hardship, which lines up with lower voting.
Why turnout in DeSoto looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. DeSoto 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 70%, about 10 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Clearview City, KS R+27
- Lenape, KS R+42
- Linwood, KS R+42
- Hesper, KS R+37
- Eudora, KS R+22
- Bonner Springs, KS R+21
- New Century, KS R+9
- Edwardsville, KS R+18
- Lenexa, KS D+12
Cities with Similar Populations
- Port Deposit, MD R+45
- Marlboro, NY R+8
- Hancock, MI D+18
- Colby, KS R+63
- Old Bethpage, NY D+6
- Pontoon Beach, IL R+22
- Saranac Lake, NY D+26
- Woods Creek, WA R+24
- Green Forest, AR R+38
- Laie, HI D+28
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Kansas 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.