Sheldahl leans Republican by roughly 28 points: about 36% of voters vote Democratic and 64% Republican.
About 75% of adults in Sheldahl typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Sheldahl, ~27% vote Democratic, ~48% Republican, and ~25% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Sheldahl compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Sheldahl leans more Republican than 34 of 59 neighbors.
Sheldahl runs about 15 points more Republican than Iowa as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Sheldahl. The southeast side is the most Republican-leaning (R+34) and the northeast side is the least Republican-leaning (R+9), a spread of about 25 points.
Why Sheldahl 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 Sheldahl, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many family households vote Republican. About 79% of households in Sheldahl are family households, about 13 points above the U.S. average of 67%.
Food insecurity and voter turnout
Places with low food insecurity tend to turn out at a higher rate; Sheldahl, IA sits in the bottom 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 Sheldahl looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Sheldahl 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 75%, about 15 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 92% of households in Sheldahl own their home, about 17 points above the U.S. average of 75%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 98% of adults in Sheldahl have completed high school, above 96% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Slater, IA R+10
- Madrid, IA R+25
- Polk City, IA R+28
- Kelley, IA R+10
- Midvale, IA R+26
- Huxley, IA R+19
- Alleman, IA R+34
- Granger, IA R+32
- Luther, IA R+33
- Granger Homesteads, IA R+32
Cities with Similar Populations
- Alexander, ND R+82
- Georgetown, ID R+74
- Nibbyville, IN R+54
- Plummer, MN R+49
- Bruce, SD R+52
- Isleboro, FL R+35
- East Laport, NC R+30
- Bedford Park, IL R+10
- Mount Etna, PA R+62
- Forman, ND R+46
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Iowa 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.