Sanders leans heavily Democratic by roughly 34 points: about 67% of voters vote Democratic and 33% Republican.
About 57% of adults in Sanders typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Sanders, ~38% vote Democratic, ~19% Republican, and ~43% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Sanders compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Sanders leans more Democratic than 1 of 7 neighbors.
Sanders runs about 40 points more Democratic than Arizona as a whole. Arizona leans Republican overall, while Sanders is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Sanders. The northwest side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+47) and the southeast side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+31), a spread of about 16 points.
Why Sanders 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 Sanders, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many never-married adults vote Democratic. About 58% of adults in Sanders have never been married, far above similar-sized cities (around 25%). Sanders runs against the grain of Arizona, a Democratic-leaning pocket in a Republican-leaning state.
Food insecurity and voter turnout
Places with high food insecurity tend to turn out at a lower rate; Sanders, AZ sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure. Food insecurity does not directly drive turnout; it reflects economic hardship, which lines up with lower voting.
Why turnout in Sanders looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Sanders 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 37%, about 17 points below the Arizona average of 54%. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 47% of adults in Sanders report food insecurity, in the top fraction of cities. Low high-school completion lines up with lower turnout, and about 80% of adults in Sanders have completed high school, below 91% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Houck, AZ D+51
- Navajo, AZ D+16
- Chambers, AZ D+50
- Lupton, AZ D+55
- Pine Springs, AZ D+51
- Wide Ruins, AZ D+51
- Zuni Pueblo, NM D+50
- Klagetoh, AZ D+55
- Zuni, NM D+74
Cities with Similar Populations
- Waterford, OH R+58
- Virginia, IL R+51
- Arroyo Seco, NM D+58
- Nickelsville, VA R+71
- Plainville, KS R+66
- Lyndonville, NY R+45
- Kalida, OH R+70
- Kintnersville, PA R+22
- Laurel Springs, NJ D+11
- Salt Lick, KY R+61
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Arizona 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.