Lakeside leans Republican by roughly 24 points: about 38% of voters vote Democratic and 62% Republican.
About 69% of adults in Lakeside typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Lakeside, ~26% vote Democratic, ~43% Republican, and ~31% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Lakeside compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Lakeside leans more Republican than 31 of 41 neighbors.
Lakeside runs about 43 points more Republican than California as a whole. California leans Democratic overall, while Lakeside is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Lakeside. The northwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+31) and the southwest side is the least Republican-leaning (R+17), a spread of about 14 points.
Why Lakeside 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 Lakeside, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Lakeside votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 79%, well above the California average of 58%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here. Lakeside runs against the grain of California, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Population density and Democratic lean
Places with high population density tend to lean Democratic; Lakeside, CA sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Lakeside looks the way it does
Turnout in Lakeside 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
- Bostonia, CA R+8
- Santee, CA R+9
- El Cajon, CA R+11
- Morena, CA R+33
- Flinn Springs, CA R+37
- Rancho San Diego, CA R+18
- Casa de Oro-Mount Helix, CA D+11
- La Mesa, CA D+24
- Alpine Heights, CA R+44
- Spring Valley, CA D+11
Cities with Similar Populations
- Brighton, MI R+16
- Lititz, PA R+16
- Cape Girardeau, MO R+17
- Arlington, MA D+69
- Springfield, VA D+28
- Lake Oswego, OR D+45
- Tucker, GA D+36
- Jamesburg, NJ R+4
- Kalispell, MT R+33
- Austell, GA D+58
All Local Stats
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from California 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.