Salem is a Republican stronghold. About 14% of voters here vote Democratic and 86% Republican.
About 63% of adults in Salem typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Salem, ~9% vote Democratic, ~54% Republican, and ~37% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Salem compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Salem leans more Republican than 45 of 52 neighbors.
Salem runs about 58 points more Republican than Texas as a whole.
Why Salem 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 Salem, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many family households vote Republican. About 75% of households in Salem are family households, about 9 points above the U.S. average of 67%.
Never-married share, developed land, and voter turnout
Places that combine a low never-married share and a rural land-use pattern tend to turn out at a higher rate, as Salem, TX does.
Why turnout in Salem looks the way it does
Homeowners vote more often than renters. About 93% of households in Salem own their home, about 19 points above the Texas average of 75%. Limited routine healthcare access lines up with lower turnout, and Salem sits in the bottom quarter on routine-care measures. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Wright City, TX R+64
- Price, TX R+56
- Turnertown, TX R+60
- Walnut Grove, TX R+71
- Sinclair City, TX R+57
- Troup, TX R+57
- Selman City, TX R+65
- Arp, TX R+63
- Griffin, TX R+74
- New London, TX R+67
Cities with Similar Populations
- Brooksdale, NC R+24
- Carlton, PA R+60
- Oak Forest, VA R+35
- Bluffton, TX R+68
- Amalga, UT R+69
- Meta, MO R+72
- Morris, GA Even
- Dillard, AL R+83
- Rockland, ID R+74
- Hamon, TX R+75
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Texas Secretary of State, Elections Division, 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.