Stephan is a Republican stronghold. About 21% of voters here vote Democratic and 79% Republican.
About 52% of adults in Stephan typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Stephan, ~11% vote Democratic, ~41% Republican, and ~48% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Stephan compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Stephan leans more Republican than 7 of 13 neighbors.
Stephan runs about 29 points more Republican than South Dakota as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Stephan. The south side runs the most Democratic (D+43) and the east side runs the most Republican (R+65), a spread of about 108 points.
Why Stephan 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 Stephan, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural areas vote Republican. About 2% of residents in Stephan live in densely developed areas, about 7 points below the South Dakota average of 9%.
Paved land cover and Republican lean
Places with little paved surface tend to lean Republican; Stephan, SD sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Paved ground does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban and built-up a place is.
Why turnout in Stephan looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Stephan 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 69%, about 9 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Peno, SD R+6
- Van Order, SD R+63
- Fort Thompson, SD D+30
- Lower Brule, SD D+72
- Gann Valley, SD D+11
- Ree Heights, SD R+67
- Bramhall, SD R+63
- Miller Dale Colony, SD R+67
- DeGrey, SD R+55
- Holabird, SD R+63
Cities with Similar Populations
- Zion, IA R+50
- Newburg, MN R+30
- Spring Garden, AL R+82
- Labarre, LA D+50
- Kewa, WA D+13
- Grainola, OK R+71
- Lasleys Point, WI R+25
- Capulin, NM R+57
- Smiths Park, SD R+47
- South River, NC R+47
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from South Dakota 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.