Rusk leans heavily Republican by roughly 42 points: about 29% of voters vote Democratic and 71% Republican.
About 93% of adults in Rusk typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Rusk, ~27% vote Democratic, ~66% Republican, and ~7% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Rusk compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Rusk leans more Republican than 53 of 67 neighbors.
Rusk runs about 40 points more Republican than Michigan as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Rusk. The south side is the most Republican-leaning (R+47) and the east side is the least Republican-leaning (R+36), a spread of about 11 points.
Why Rusk 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 Rusk, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Car-dependent areas vote Republican. About 86% of residents in Rusk drive to work alone, about 12 points above the U.S. average of 74%. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 83% of households in Rusk are family households, above 94% of cities.
Homeownership and voter turnout
Places with homeowner-heavy households tend to turn out at a higher rate; Rusk, MI sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Rusk looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Rusk 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 74%, about 14 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 97% of households in Rusk own their home, compared to around 79% in nearby cities. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 96% of adults in Rusk have completed high school, above 83% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Eastmanville, MI R+40
- North Blendon, MI R+36
- Allendale, MI R+3
- West Olive, MI R+26
- Borculo, MI R+39
- Pearline, MI D+25
- Coopersville, MI R+36
- Lamont, MI R+40
- Nunica, MI R+32
- Grand Haven, MI R+10
Cities with Similar Populations
- Bethelridge, KY R+75
- Red Lick, TX R+64
- Midpines, CA D+7
- McNeil, AR R+20
- Shaw, OR R+34
- Stanwood, IA R+39
- Stallion Springs, CA R+47
- Ruston, WA D+44
- Silverton, TX R+67
- Malott, WA R+33
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.