Lake of the Woods County, MN Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Lake of the Woods County

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

Lake of the Woods County leans heavily Republican by roughly 40 points: about 30% of voters vote Democratic and 70% Republican.

 

About 66% of adults in Lake of the Woods County typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Lake of the Woods County, ~20% vote Democratic, ~46% Republican, and ~34% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Lake of the Woods County compares

Lake of the Woods County runs about 44 points more Republican than Minnesota as a whole. Minnesota leans Democratic overall, while Lake of the Woods County is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.

Politics vary noticeably by city within Lake of the Woods County. The west side is the most Republican-leaning (R+48) and the east side is the least Republican-leaning (R+34), a spread of about 14 points.

Why Lake of the Woods 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 Lake of the Woods County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.

Lake of the Woods County votes against the grain of Minnesota. Minnesota leans Democratic overall, while Lake of the Woods County runs about 44 points more Republican. Rural areas vote Republican, and Lake of the Woods County sits in the bottom quarter on density (about 3%, below 98% of counties).

Population density and Republican lean

Places with low population density tend to lean Republican; Lake of the Woods County, MN sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure.

Why turnout in Lake of the Woods County looks the way it does

Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Lake of the Woods 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 66%, about 6 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 82% of households in Lake of the Woods County own their home, above 89% of counties. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 97% of adults in Lake of the Woods County have completed high school, in the top fraction of counties. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.

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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.