Kailua-Kona, HI Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Kailua-Kona

By the BestNeighborhood data science team. Last updated May 2026.

Kailua-Kona leans Democratic by roughly 16 points: about 58% of voters vote Democratic and 42% Republican.

 

About 55% of adults in Kailua-Kona typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Kailua-Kona, ~32% vote Democratic, ~23% Republican, and ~45% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Kailua-Kona compares

Among cities within 25 miles, Kailua-Kona leans more Democratic than 2 of 10 neighbors.

Kailua-Kona runs about 7 points more Republican than Hawaii as a whole.

Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Kailua-Kona. The east side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+27) and the west side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+12), a spread of about 15 points.

Why Kailua-Kona 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 Kailua-Kona, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.

Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 32% of adults in Kailua-Kona hold a bachelor's degree, above 77% of cities. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 32% of adults in Kailua-Kona have never been married, above 80% of cities.

Population density and Democratic lean

Places with high population density tend to lean Democratic; Kailua-Kona, HI sits in the top quarter nationally on this measure.

Why turnout in Kailua-Kona looks the way it does

Areas with high food insecurity turn out at lower rates. About 21% of adults in Kailua-Kona report food insecurity, about 5 points above the U.S. average of 16%. Renters vote less often than owners, and about 37% of households in Kailua-Kona rent, above 92% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.

Sources and methodology

Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Hawaii Office of 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. Some land-use inputs for Hawaii, including walkability and the environmental-justice index, are estimated rather than measured, so the figures here carry added uncertainty. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.

Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.