Rufe is a Republican stronghold. About 12% of voters here vote Democratic and 88% Republican.
About 55% of adults in Rufe typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Rufe, ~7% vote Democratic, ~48% Republican, and ~45% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Rufe compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Rufe leans more Republican than 13 of 33 neighbors.
Rufe runs about 27 points more Republican than Oklahoma as a whole.
Why Rufe 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 Rufe, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with low college attainment vote Republican. About 11% of adults in Rufe hold a bachelor's degree, about 10 points below the Oklahoma average of 21%. Rural areas vote Republican, and Rufe sits in the bottom quarter on density (about 5%, below 78% of cities).
Paved land cover and Republican lean
Places with little paved surface tend to lean Republican; Rufe, OK sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure. Paved ground does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban and built-up a place is.
Why turnout in Rufe looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Rufe is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 22% of adults in Rufe report food insecurity, above 85% of cities. Low high-school completion lines up with lower turnout, and about 82% of adults in Rufe have completed high school, below 87% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Swink, OK R+78
- Ringold, OK R+77
- Valliant, OK R+69
- Sobol, OK R+80
- Wright City, OK R+61
- Fort Towson, OK R+72
- Millerton, OK R+72
- Corinne, OK R+80
- Glover, OK R+72
- Virgil, OK R+77
Cities with Similar Populations
- DeWeese, MS R+68
- Brushy, OK R+56
- Buffalo Ridge, SD R+51
- Moro, OR R+62
- Foster, IN R+63
- Kelvin, ND D+13
- Powers Lake, WI R+32
- Northview, MO R+67
- Whiting, MO R+69
- Park Rapids, WA R+40
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Oklahoma State Election Board, 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.