Fort Defiance leans heavily Democratic by roughly 44 points: about 72% of voters vote Democratic and 28% Republican.
About 48% of adults in Fort Defiance typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Fort Defiance, ~34% vote Democratic, ~13% Republican, and ~53% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Fort Defiance compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Fort Defiance leans more Democratic than 13 of 20 neighbors.
Fort Defiance runs about 39 points more Democratic than New Mexico as a whole.
Why Fort Defiance 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 Fort Defiance, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many never-married adults vote Democratic. About 59% of adults in Fort Defiance have never been married, far above similar-sized cities (around 26%).
Food insecurity and voter turnout
Places with high food insecurity tend to turn out at a lower rate; Fort Defiance, NM sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure. Food insecurity does not directly drive turnout; it reflects economic hardship, which lines up with lower voting.
Why turnout in Fort Defiance looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Fort Defiance 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 44%, about 13 points below the New Mexico average of 58%. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 52% of adults in Fort Defiance report food insecurity, in the top fraction of cities. High-crime urban areas turn out at lower rates, and Fort Defiance sits in the top 15% on a violent-crime measure. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Fort Defiance, AZ D+59
- Window Rock, NM D+44
- Window Rock, AZ D+41
- St. Michaels, AZ D+49
- Sawmill, AZ D+61
- Mexican Springs, NM D+44
- Yatahey, NM D+35
- Tohatchi, NM D+51
- Navajo, NM D+50
- Yah-ta-hey, NM D+30
Cities with Similar Populations
- Kensington, KS R+77
- Needmore, TN R+65
- Nebo, IL R+68
- Shandaken, NY D+29
- Chataignier, LA R+57
- Perry, SC R+45
- Oakland, PA R+43
- Olney Springs, CO R+45
- Sidney, KY R+73
- Burdick, IN R+19
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from New Mexico Secretary of State, Bureau of 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.