Koochiching County leans Republican by roughly 26 points: about 37% of voters vote Democratic and 63% Republican.
About 80% of adults in Koochiching County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Koochiching County, ~30% vote Democratic, ~50% Republican, and ~20% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Koochiching County compares
Koochiching County runs about 31 points more Republican than Minnesota as a whole. Minnesota leans Democratic overall, while Koochiching County is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Koochiching County. The southwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+41) and the north side is the least Republican-leaning (R+16), a spread of about 25 points.
Why Koochiching 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 Koochiching County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Koochiching County votes against the grain of Minnesota. Minnesota leans Democratic overall, while Koochiching County runs about 31 points more Republican.
Preventive-care access and voter turnout
Places with strong routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Koochiching County, MN sits above the national average 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 Koochiching County looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Koochiching 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 64%, above 74% of counties. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 81% of households in Koochiching County own their home, above 83% of counties. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 94% of adults in Koochiching County have completed high school, above 88% of counties. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Lake of the Woods County, MN R+40
- Itasca County, MN R+22
- Beltrami County, MN R+4
- Roseau County, MN R+45
- Clearwater County, MN R+46
- St. Louis County, MN D+12
- Hubbard County, MN R+30
- Cass County, MN R+30
- Pennington County, MN R+32
- Lake County, MN R+5
Counties with Similar Populations
- Boundary County, ID R+64
- Fulton County, AR R+64
- Macon County, GA D+22
- Jefferson County, MT R+38
- Skamania County, WA R+13
- Lake County, MI R+30
- Washington County, KY R+58
- Little River County, AR R+45
- Lawrence County, MS R+30
- Chickasaw County, IA R+40
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Minnesota 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.