East Saugatuck leans heavily Republican by roughly 32 points: about 34% of voters vote Democratic and 66% Republican.
About 88% of adults in East Saugatuck typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in East Saugatuck, ~30% vote Democratic, ~58% Republican, and ~12% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How East Saugatuck compares
Among cities within 25 miles, East Saugatuck leans more Republican than 32 of 62 neighbors.
East Saugatuck runs about 31 points more Republican than Michigan as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within East Saugatuck. The southwest side runs the most Democratic (D+2) and the northeast side runs the most Republican (R+44), a spread of about 47 points.
Why East Saugatuck 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 East Saugatuck, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many family households vote Republican. About 84% of households in East Saugatuck are family households, about 17 points above the U.S. average of 67%.
Cancer-screening access and voter turnout
Places with high colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a higher rate; East Saugatuck, MI sits in the top quarter nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.
Why turnout in East Saugatuck looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. East Saugatuck 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 73%, about 13 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 96% of households in East Saugatuck own their home, about 21 points above the U.S. average of 75%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 97% of adults in East Saugatuck have completed high school, above 88% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- New Richmond, MI R+40
- Glenn, MI R+37
- Saugatuck, MI D+6
- Hamilton, MI R+46
- Douglas, MI D+5
- Overisel, MI R+45
- Spring Grove, MI R+20
- Fennville, MI R+18
Cities with Similar Populations
- Higbee, MO R+63
- Laurel Springs, NC R+56
- Hartwell, AR R+61
- Snover, MI R+60
- Brownsville, WI R+47
- Franklin, NY R+22
- Old Forge, NY R+3
- Bogata, TX R+70
- Keota, OK R+72
- Dover, MN R+40
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Michigan Department 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.