Kotzebue leans slightly Democratic by roughly 10 points: about 55% of voters vote Democratic and 45% Republican. These figures are model estimates: Alaska did not have precinct-level voting records available for training, so the numbers above come from demographic and health features rather than local ground truth.
About 56% of adults in Kotzebue typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Kotzebue, ~31% vote Democratic, ~25% Republican, and ~44% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Kotzebue compares
Kotzebue runs about 23 points more Democratic than Alaska as a whole. Alaska leans Republican overall, while Kotzebue is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Kotzebue. The northeast side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+25) and the southwest side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+6), a spread of about 19 points.
Why Kotzebue 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 Kotzebue, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many never-married adults vote Democratic. About 52% of adults in Kotzebue have never been married, well above similar-sized cities (around 30%). Kotzebue runs against the grain of Alaska, 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; Kotzebue, AK sits in the bottom quarter 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 Kotzebue looks the way it does
Renters vote less often than owners. About 52% of households in Kotzebue rent, about 27 points above the U.S. average of 25%. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 23% of adults in Kotzebue report food insecurity, above 88% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Noorvik, AK D+25
- Noatak, AK D+24
- Deering, AK D+19
- Kiana, AK D+25
- Selawik, AK D+23
- Buckland, AK D+19
- Kivalina, AK D+24
- Shishmaref, AK D+33
- Ambler, AK D+19
- Shungnak, AK D+19
Cities with Similar Populations
- Shoshone, ID R+58
- Fair Oaks, OK R+52
- Shalimar, FL R+30
- Toyahvale, TX R+51
- Pierz, MN R+66
- Biscayne Park, FL D+12
- Hoopa, CA D+46
- Moselle, MS R+74
- Arp, TX R+63
- Ellendale, DE R+25
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Alaska Division 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. AK did not have precinct-level voting records available for training, so the figures here come from extrapolation across demographic, health, and land-use features rather than local ground truth. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.
Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.