Manistee leans slightly Republican by roughly 10 points: about 45% of voters vote Democratic and 55% Republican.
About 84% of adults in Manistee typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Manistee, ~38% vote Democratic, ~46% Republican, and ~16% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Manistee compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Manistee leans more Republican than 4 of 30 neighbors.
Manistee runs about 8 points more Republican than Michigan as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Manistee. The west side runs the most Democratic (D+6) and the southeast side runs the most Republican (R+31), a spread of about 37 points.
Why Manistee 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 Manistee, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Manistee votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 48%, well above the Michigan average of 31%). Here an older population outweighs the Democratic lean that density usually predicts.
Cancer-screening access and voter turnout
Places with high colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Manistee, MI sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.
Why turnout in Manistee looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Manistee 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 68%, about 8 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Eastlake, MI R+28
- Parkdale, MI R+9
- Newland, MI R+16
- Oak Hill, MI R+23
- Stronach, MI R+32
- Filer City, MI R+16
- Harrison Beach, MI R+34
- Red Park, MI R+15
- Norwalk, MI R+25
- Onekama, MI R+2
Cities with Similar Populations
- Leicester, NC R+33
- Manhattan, IL R+30
- Saucier, MS R+68
- Atoka, TN R+50
- Dudley, MA R+12
- Marion, VA R+49
- Little Chute, WI R+16
- Hurricane, WV R+45
- Manasquan, NJ R+18
- Holtsville, NY R+28
All Local Stats
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Michigan Department 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.