Elko leans heavily Republican by roughly 34 points: about 33% of voters vote Democratic and 67% Republican.
About 93% of adults in Elko typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Elko, ~31% vote Democratic, ~62% Republican, and ~7% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Elko compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Elko leans more Republican than 51 of 69 neighbors.
Elko runs about 38 points more Republican than Minnesota as a whole. Minnesota leans Democratic overall, while Elko is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Why Elko 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 Elko, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many family households vote Republican. About 91% of households in Elko are family households, about 24 points above the U.S. average of 67%. Elko runs against the grain of Minnesota, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Homeownership and voter turnout
Places with homeowner-heavy households tend to turn out at a higher rate; Elko, MN sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Elko looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Elko 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 97% of households in Elko own their home, about 21 points above the U.S. average of 75%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 99% of adults in Elko have completed high school, above 97% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- New Market, MN R+32
- Elko New Market, MN R+28
- Webster, MN R+38
- Veseli, MN R+44
- Little Chicago, MN R+36
- Lydia, MN R+33
- Lakeville, MN Even
- Lonsdale, MN R+28
- Prior Lake, MN R+8
- Castle Rock, MN R+33
Cities with Similar Populations
- Darlington, PA R+48
- Carbon Hill, AL R+79
- Westfield, WI R+35
- Como, WI R+16
- Malmstrom Air Force Base, MT R+39
- Highlandville, MO R+65
- Ozona, TX R+38
- Lake City, AR R+67
- Centreville, MS D+27
- Crystal Falls, MI R+24
All Local Stats
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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.