South Taft leans Republican by roughly 18 points: about 41% of voters vote Democratic and 59% Republican.
About 38% of adults in South Taft typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in South Taft, ~16% vote Democratic, ~22% Republican, and ~62% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How South Taft compares
Among cities within 25 miles, South Taft leans more Republican than 1 of 12 neighbors.
South Taft runs about 39 points more Republican than California as a whole. California leans Democratic overall, while South Taft is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within South Taft. The south side is the most Republican-leaning (R+66) and the northwest side is the least Republican-leaning (R+13), a spread of about 53 points.
Why South Taft 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 South Taft, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with low college attainment vote Republican. About 7% of adults in South Taft hold a bachelor's degree, about 28 points below the California average of 35%. Dense places usually vote Democratic, but South Taft runs against that pattern. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 77% of households in South Taft are family households, above 81% of cities.
Cancer-screening access and voter turnout
Places with low colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a lower rate; South Taft, CA sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.
Why turnout in South Taft looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. South Taft 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 47%, about 15 points below the California average of 62%. Renters vote less often than owners, and about 57% of households in South Taft rent, compared to around 36% in nearby cities. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 30% of adults in South Taft report food insecurity, above 95% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Taft, CA R+40
- Ford City, CA R+57
- Valley Acres, CA R+80
- Maricopa, CA R+63
- Fellows, CA R+80
- Tupman, CA R+73
- Mc Kittrick, CA R+82
- New Cuyama, CA R+23
- Cuyama, CA R+23
- Buttonwillow, CA R+23
Cities with Similar Populations
- West Hawley, MA D+11
- Amoy, OH R+57
- Glenloch, GA R+75
- Lexsy, GA R+55
- Roystone, PA R+52
- Ruby, AK D+33
- Portal, ND R+74
- Spring Hill, SC D+21
- Tanner, WV R+65
- Clover Lick, WV R+51
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from California 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.