Forward leans slightly Democratic by roughly 12 points: about 56% of voters vote Democratic and 44% Republican.
About 91% of adults in Forward typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Forward, ~51% vote Democratic, ~40% Republican, and ~9% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Forward compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Forward leans more Democratic than 37 of 55 neighbors.
Forward runs about 14 points more Democratic than Wisconsin as a whole. Wisconsin is roughly evenly split, and Forward sits clearly on the Democratic side.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Forward. The east side runs the most Democratic (D+20) and the southwest side runs the most Republican (Even), a spread of about 22 points.
Why Forward 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 Forward, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 40% of adults in Forward hold a bachelor's degree, about 12 points above the U.S. average of 28%. Forward runs against the grain of Wisconsin, a Democratic-leaning outlier in a roughly evenly split state.
High-school completion, developed land, and voter turnout
Places that combine high-school-completion-heavy adults and a rural land-use pattern tend to turn out at a higher rate, as Forward, WI does.
Why turnout in Forward looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Forward 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%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 97% of adults in Forward have completed high school, above 90% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Mount Vernon, WI D+20
- Postville, WI R+3
- New Glarus, WI Even
- Blanchardville, WI R+12
- Mount Horeb, WI D+16
- Hollandale, WI R+8
- Belleville, WI D+13
- Blue Mounds, WI D+26
- Dayton, WI Even
- Monticello, WI R+8
Cities with Similar Populations
- South Bethany, DE D+11
- Docena, AL D+53
- Keswick, CA R+41
- Waha, ID R+50
- Butler, OK R+78
- Tookland, VA R+66
- Penrod, KY R+67
- Oval, PA R+68
- Bruce, IL R+57
- Ramsey, TX R+45
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Wisconsin Elections Commission, 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.