Shishmaref leans heavily Democratic by roughly 34 points: about 67% of voters vote Democratic and 33% Republican. These figures are model estimates: Alaska did not have precinct-level voting records available for training, so the numbers above come from demographic and health features rather than local ground truth.
About 60% of adults in Shishmaref typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Shishmaref, ~40% vote Democratic, ~20% Republican, and ~40% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Shishmaref compares
Shishmaref runs about 46 points more Democratic than Alaska as a whole. Alaska leans Republican overall, while Shishmaref is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.
Why Shishmaref 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 Shishmaref, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Shishmaref votes against the grain of Alaska. Alaska leans Republican overall, while Shishmaref runs about 46 points more Democratic. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 57% of adults in Shishmaref have never been married, in the top fraction of cities.
Preventive-care access and voter turnout
Places with limited routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a lower rate; Shishmaref, AK sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Dental visits do not drive turnout; the rate reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access, which line up with who votes.
Why turnout in Shishmaref looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Shishmaref 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 35%, about 15 points below the Alaska average of 50%. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 44% of adults in Shishmaref report food insecurity, in the top fraction of cities. High-crime urban areas turn out at lower rates, and Shishmaref sits in the top 15% on a violent-crime measure. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Brevig Mission, AK D+33
- Teller, AK D+33
- Wales, AK D+33
- Deering, AK D+19
- Kotzebue, AK D+10
- Kivalina, AK D+24
- Nome, AK D+8
- Noatak, AK D+24
- White Mountain, AK D+33
- Buckland, AK D+19
Cities with Similar Populations
- Olympia, KY R+64
- Okolona, AR R+41
- Camden, MS D+32
- Stagecoach, TX R+61
- New Jerusalem, PA R+30
- South Boston, IN R+62
- Chloe, WV R+62
- Potter Lake, WI R+29
- Price, ND R+67
- Progress, MS R+16
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Alaska Division of 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. AK did not have precinct-level voting records available for training, so the figures here come from extrapolation across demographic, health, and land-use features rather than local ground truth. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.
Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.