Stearns County leans Republican by roughly 22 points: about 39% of voters vote Democratic and 61% Republican.
About 75% of adults in Stearns County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Stearns County, ~29% vote Democratic, ~46% Republican, and ~25% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Stearns County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Stearns County is the least Republican-leaning.
Stearns County runs about 25 points more Republican than Minnesota as a whole. Minnesota leans Democratic overall, while Stearns County is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Stearns County. The east side runs the most Democratic (D+10) and the west side runs the most Republican (R+71), a spread of about 81 points.
Why Stearns County leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per county to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Stearns County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Stearns County votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 49%, well above the Minnesota average of 23%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here. Stearns County runs against the grain of Minnesota, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Cancer-screening access and voter turnout
Places with high colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Stearns County, MN sits in the top quarter nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.
Why turnout in Stearns County looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Stearns County 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 67%, about 7 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Benton County, MN R+30
- Morrison County, MN R+53
- Meeker County, MN R+44
- Sherburne County, MN R+29
- Wright County, MN R+28
- Mille Lacs County, MN R+42
- Kandiyohi County, MN R+29
- Todd County, MN R+50
- McLeod County, MN R+40
- Pope County, MN R+38
Counties with Similar Populations
- Centre County, PA D+8
- Sullivan County, TN R+50
- Martin County, FL R+25
- Schenectady County, NY D+17
- Fairfield County, OH R+23
- Bibb County, GA D+33
- Alexandria City, VA D+55
- Rankin County, MS R+42
- Stafford County, VA D+6
- Indian River County, FL R+21
All Local Stats
Home Services
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.