Gadsden leans slightly Democratic by roughly 8 points: about 54% of voters vote Democratic and 46% Republican.
About 45% of adults in Gadsden typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Gadsden, ~24% vote Democratic, ~21% Republican, and ~55% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Gadsden compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Gadsden leans more Democratic than 5 of 7 neighbors.
Gadsden runs about 14 points more Democratic than Arizona as a whole. Arizona leans Republican overall, while Gadsden is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.
Why Gadsden 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 Gadsden, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many never-married adults vote Democratic. About 60% of adults in Gadsden have never been married, far above similar-sized cities (around 23%). Gadsden runs against the grain of Arizona, a Democratic-leaning pocket in a Republican-leaning state.
Preventive-care access and voter turnout
Places with limited routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a lower rate; Gadsden, AZ sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Dental visits do not drive turnout; the rate reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access, which line up with who votes.
Why turnout in Gadsden looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Gadsden 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 10 points below the Arizona average of 54%. Renters vote less often than owners, and about 84% of households in Gadsden rent, compared to around 29% in nearby cities. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 34% of adults in Gadsden report food insecurity, above 97% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- San Luis, AZ D+5
- Somerton, AZ D+8
- Avenue B and C, AZ D+5
- Yuma, AZ R+9
- Winterhaven, CA D+24
- Bard, CA D+27
- Fortuna Foothills, AZ R+32
- Laguna, AZ R+46
- Dome, AZ R+41
- Ligurta, AZ R+42
Cities with Similar Populations
- Forest Lake, PA R+50
- Somerset, VA R+32
- Menola, NC Even
- Fedhaven, FL R+62
- Gays, IL R+61
- Shamrock, WI R+40
- Pintura, UT R+52
- Oakfield, ME R+45
- Old Sparta, NC R+16
- Safe, MO R+65
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Arizona 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.