Guthrie County leans heavily Republican by roughly 42 points: about 29% of voters vote Democratic and 71% Republican.
About 82% of adults in Guthrie County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Guthrie County, ~24% vote Democratic, ~58% Republican, and ~18% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Guthrie County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Guthrie County leans more Republican than 8 of 14 neighbors.
Guthrie County runs about 28 points more Republican than Iowa as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Guthrie County. The southwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+51) and the east side is the least Republican-leaning (R+34), a spread of about 17 points.
Why Guthrie County leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per county to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Guthrie County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural areas with a high white share vote Republican. Guthrie County sits in the bottom quarter on density and about 92% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 20 points above the U.S. average of 72%.
Preventive-care access and voter turnout
Places with strong routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Guthrie County, IA sits in the top 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 Guthrie County looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Guthrie County 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 69%, about 9 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 84% of households in Guthrie County own their home, above 94% of counties. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 96% of adults in Guthrie County have completed high school, above 96% of counties. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Adair County, IA R+46
- Greene County, IA R+39
- Audubon County, IA R+46
- Dallas County, IA R+7
- Madison County, IA R+41
- Carroll County, IA R+44
- Cass County, IA R+41
- Boone County, IA R+24
- Polk County, IA D+12
- Union County, IA R+33
Counties with Similar Populations
- Middlesex County, VA R+27
- Wilcox County, AL D+22
- Essex County, VA R+8
- Colfax County, NE R+27
- Bollinger County, MO R+70
- Ripley County, MO R+70
- Winnebago County, IA R+28
- Mitchell County, IA R+36
- Walsh County, ND R+46
- Custer County, NE R+68
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Iowa 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.