Side Lake leans Republican by roughly 18 points: about 41% of voters vote Democratic and 59% Republican.
About 72% of adults in Side Lake typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Side Lake, ~30% vote Democratic, ~42% Republican, and ~28% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Side Lake compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Side Lake leans more Republican than 9 of 23 neighbors.
Side Lake runs about 22 points more Republican than Minnesota as a whole. Minnesota leans Democratic overall, while Side Lake is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Side Lake. The northeast side is the most Republican-leaning (R+25) and the northwest side is the least Republican-leaning (R+10), a spread of about 15 points.
Why Side Lake 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 Side Lake, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural areas vote Republican. About 4% of residents in Side Lake live in densely developed areas, about 20 points below the Minnesota average of 23%. Side Lake runs against the grain of Minnesota, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
High-school completion, developed land, and voter turnout
Places that combine high-school-completion-heavy adults and a rural land-use pattern tend to turn out at a higher rate, as Side Lake, MN does.
Why turnout in Side Lake looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Side Lake 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 66%, about 6 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 96% of households in Side Lake own their home, about 21 points above the U.S. average of 75%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 98% of adults in Side Lake have completed high school, above 96% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Lavinia, MN R+20
- Chisholm, MN Even
- Angora, MN R+25
- Celina, MN R+21
- Kinney, MN R+22
- Linden Grove, MN R+25
- Buhl, MN R+17
- Togo, MN R+11
- Hibbing, MN R+2
- Keewatin, MN R+18
Cities with Similar Populations
- Vida, OR R+6
- Green Pond, AL R+74
- Moses Lake North, WA R+67
- Deerfield, KS R+82
- Roddy, TX R+81
- Moriah, NY R+24
- Easton, KS R+52
- Amherstdale, WV R+71
- Glenarm, IL R+36
- Cannonsburg, MI R+17
All Local Stats
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Minnesota 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.