Fort Smith leans Republican by roughly 16 points: about 42% of voters vote Democratic and 58% Republican.
About 47% of adults in Fort Smith typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Fort Smith, ~20% vote Democratic, ~27% Republican, and ~53% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Fort Smith compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Fort Smith is the least Republican-leaning.
Fort Smith runs about 14 points more Democratic than Arkansas as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Fort Smith. The northwest side runs the most Democratic (D+13) and the southeast side runs the most Republican (R+36), a spread of about 49 points.
Why Fort Smith 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 Smith, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Fort Smith votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 85%, far above the Arkansas average of 13%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here.
High-school completion, developed land, and voter turnout
Places that combine low high-school-completion share and a heavily developed built environment tend to turn out at a lower rate, as Fort Smith, AR does.
Why turnout in Fort Smith looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Fort Smith is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. Renters vote less often than owners, and about 44% of households in Fort Smith rent, compared to around 26% in nearby cities. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 23% of adults in Fort Smith report food insecurity, above 88% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Arkoma, OK R+65
- Barling, AR R+38
- Moffett, OK R+48
- Van Buren, AR R+47
- Dora, AR R+62
- Pocola, OK R+67
- Roland, OK R+52
- Bonanza, AR R+54
- Old Jenny Lind, AR R+59
- Central City, AR R+67
Cities with Similar Populations
- Macomb, MI R+28
- Elkhart, IN R+15
- Brandon, FL Even
- Kennesaw, GA D+7
- Bryan, TX D+7
- Manteca, CA R+8
- Sanford, FL D+9
- Jacksonville, NC R+11
- Utica, MI R+22
- Nashua, NH D+19
All Local Stats
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Arkansas 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.