Steele County leans Republican by roughly 22 points: about 39% of voters vote Democratic and 61% Republican.
About 88% of adults in Steele County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Steele County, ~34% vote Democratic, ~54% Republican, and ~12% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Steele County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Steele County leans more Republican than 8 of 14 neighbors.
Steele County runs about 26 points more Republican than Minnesota as a whole. Minnesota leans Democratic overall, while Steele County is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Steele County. The south side is the most Republican-leaning (R+46) and the north side is the least Republican-leaning (R+16), a spread of about 30 points.
Why Steele 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 Steele County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Steele County votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 54%, far above the Minnesota average of 23%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here. Steele County runs against the grain of Minnesota, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Preventive-care access and voter turnout
Places with strong routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Steele County, MN sits in the top quarter 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 Steele County looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Steele 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 66%, about 6 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 81% of households in Steele County own their home, above 84% of counties. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 94% of adults in Steele County have completed high school, above 81% of counties. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Waseca County, MN R+32
- Dodge County, MN R+31
- Rice County, MN Even
- Freeborn County, MN R+22
- Mower County, MN R+13
- Le Sueur County, MN R+32
- Olmsted County, MN D+12
- Goodhue County, MN R+22
- Blue Earth County, MN R+6
- Nicollet County, MN R+9
Counties with Similar Populations
- Essex County, NY R+5
- Boone County, AR R+58
- Addison County, VT D+23
- Clinton County, PA R+46
- Houghton County, MI D+5
- Bennington County, VT D+17
- Natchitoches Parish, LA R+13
- Talbot County, MD Even
- Covington County, AL R+66
- Clarion County, PA R+50
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.