Oakland leans Republican by roughly 22 points: about 39% of voters vote Democratic and 61% Republican. These figures are model estimates: Maine 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 81% of adults in Oakland typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Oakland, ~32% vote Democratic, ~49% Republican, and ~19% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Oakland compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Oakland leans more Republican than 36 of 84 neighbors.
Oakland runs about 29 points more Republican than Maine as a whole. Maine leans Democratic overall, while Oakland is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Oakland. The north side is the most Republican-leaning (R+26) and the southwest side is the least Republican-leaning (R+14), a spread of about 12 points.
Why Oakland 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 Oakland, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Oakland votes against the grain of Maine. Maine leans Democratic overall, while Oakland runs about 29 points more Republican. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 77% of households in Oakland are family households, above 82% of cities.
Cancer-screening access and voter turnout
Places with high colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Oakland, ME sits in the top quarter nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.
Why turnout in Oakland looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Oakland 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%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 97% of adults in Oakland have completed high school, above 88% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- North Belgrade, ME R+6
- Waterville, ME D+8
- Fairfield Center, ME R+27
- Smithfield, ME R+20
- Weeks Mills, ME R+26
- Fairfield, ME R+25
- Winslow, ME R+10
- North Vassalboro, ME R+19
- Belgrade, ME D+7
- Belgrade Lakes, ME D+3
Cities with Similar Populations
- Riverdale, CA R+34
- New Carlisle, IN R+28
- Moore Haven, FL R+38
- Gateway, AK R+30
- Olathe, CO R+49
- Lavon, TX R+33
- Indian Hill, OH R+6
- Adamsville, AL D+31
- Gordonsville, VA R+24
- Williamson, NY R+25
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Maine Secretary of State, Bureau of Corporations Elections and Commissions, 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. ME 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.