Harvard is a Republican stronghold. About 20% of voters here vote Democratic and 80% Republican.
About 68% of adults in Harvard typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Harvard, ~14% vote Democratic, ~54% Republican, and ~32% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Harvard compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Harvard leans more Republican than 27 of 40 neighbors.
Harvard runs about 47 points more Republican than Iowa as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Harvard. The west side is the most Republican-leaning (R+63) and the northwest side is the least Republican-leaning (R+48), a spread of about 15 points.
Why Harvard 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 Harvard, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with a high white share and below-average college attainment vote Republican. In Harvard, about 96% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 23 points above the U.S. average of 72%; about 16% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, about 8 points below the Iowa average of 24%.
Population density and Republican lean
Places with low population density tend to lean Republican; Harvard, IA sits below the national average on this measure.
Why turnout in Harvard looks the way it does
Turnout in Harvard sits close to the national pattern. Routine healthcare access, homeownership, education, and food security all land near their national averages here. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Corydon, IA R+52
- Sewal, IA R+63
- Allerton, IA R+62
- Seymour, IA R+59
- Promise City, IA R+58
- Powersville, MO R+70
- Clio, IA R+58
- Jerome, IA R+58
- Plano, IA R+52
- Millerton, IA R+55
Cities with Similar Populations
- Altonah, UT R+83
- Sparta, VA R+30
- Finger, NC R+67
- Somerset, IL R+61
- Soperton, WI R+36
- Dewart, PA R+54
- Independence, NY R+47
- New Lands, NC R+41
- Peniel, TX R+52
- Carbon, IA R+54
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.