Gladden leans slightly Democratic by roughly 6 points: about 53% of voters vote Democratic and 47% Republican.
About 45% of adults in Gladden typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Gladden, ~24% vote Democratic, ~21% Republican, and ~55% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Gladden compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Gladden leans more Democratic than 41 of 55 neighbors.
Gladden runs about 37 points more Democratic than Arkansas as a whole. Arkansas leans Republican overall, while Gladden is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.
Why Gladden 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 Gladden, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural, majority-Black areas of the Southern Black Belt vote Democratic, against the usual rural pattern. About 46% of residents in Gladden are Black or African American, about 34 points above the Arkansas average of 11%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 34% of adults in Gladden have never been married, above 86% of cities. Gladden runs against the grain of Arkansas, 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; Gladden, AR 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 Gladden looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Gladden 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 41%, about 10 points below the Arkansas average of 51%. Renters vote less often than owners, and about 31% of households in Gladden rent, above 86% of cities. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 36% of adults in Gladden report food insecurity, above 98% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Shell Lake, AR R+11
- Heth, AR R+31
- Parkin, AR D+5
- Norvell, AR D+33
- Jennette, AR Even
- Earle, AR D+50
- Lansing, AR D+15
- Wittsburg, AR R+72
- Newcastle, AR R+61
Cities with Similar Populations
- Wyalusing, WI R+43
- Garden Village, WI R+12
- Olney, KY R+68
- Old Damascus, GA R+5
- Niobe, ND R+69
- Wyarno, WY R+72
- Furnessville, IN R+15
- Reserve, MT R+57
- Mary Alice, KY R+76
- Maryhill, WA R+39
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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.