Santa Elena leans slightly Republican by roughly 10 points: about 45% of voters vote Democratic and 55% Republican.
About 61% of adults in Santa Elena typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Santa Elena, ~27% vote Democratic, ~34% Republican, and ~39% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Santa Elena compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Santa Elena leans more Republican than 2 of 8 neighbors.
Santa Elena runs about 4 points more Democratic than Texas as a whole.
Why Santa Elena 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 Santa Elena, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural areas vote Republican. About 1% of residents in Santa Elena live in densely developed areas, about 33 points below the Texas average of 35%.
Paved land cover and Republican lean
Places with little paved surface tend to lean Republican; Santa Elena, TX sits in the bottom tenth 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 Santa Elena looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Santa Elena is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The uninsured rate here is about 32%, about 13 points above the Texas average of 19%. Low high-school completion lines up with lower turnout, and about 81% of adults in Santa Elena have completed high school, below 89% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- San Isidro, TX R+9
- Delmita, TX R+9
- Santa Catarina, TX R+9
- La Reforma, TX R+17
- Rachal, TX R+3
- San Manuel-Linn, TX R+13
- Santa Cruz, TX R+15
- Linn, TX R+28
Cities with Similar Populations
- Alice, ND R+44
- Dorothy, WV R+71
- Ketchumville, NY R+28
- Eckard, IL R+49
- Braddock, ND R+76
- Holder, FL R+48
- Bruno, AR R+63
- Little, WV R+64
- Eddyville, PA R+72
- Mount Zion, IA R+51
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.