Porcupine, SD Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Porcupine

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

Porcupine is a Democratic stronghold. About 79% of voters here vote Democratic and 21% Republican.

 

About 36% of adults in Porcupine typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Porcupine, ~29% vote Democratic, ~7% Republican, and ~64% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Porcupine compares

Among cities within 25 miles, Porcupine leans more Democratic than 7 of 10 neighbors.

Porcupine runs about 87 points more Democratic than South Dakota as a whole. South Dakota leans Republican overall, while Porcupine is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.

Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Porcupine. The north side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+59) and the northeast side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+31), a spread of about 27 points.

Why Porcupine 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 Porcupine, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.

Porcupine votes against the grain of South Dakota. South Dakota leans Republican overall, while Porcupine runs about 87 points more Democratic. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 76% of adults in Porcupine have never been married, in the top fraction of cities.

Cancer-screening access and voter turnout

Places with low colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a lower rate; Porcupine, SD sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.

Why turnout in Porcupine looks the way it does

Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Porcupine is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 32%, about 34 points below the South Dakota average of 66%. Renters vote less often than owners, and about 56% of households in Porcupine rent, about 31 points above the U.S. average of 25%. Low high-school completion lines up with lower turnout, and about 37% of adults in Porcupine have completed high school, in the bottom fraction of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.

Sources and methodology

Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from South Dakota 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.