Sumatra is a Republican stronghold. About 17% of voters here vote Democratic and 83% Republican.
About 65% of adults in Sumatra typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Sumatra, ~11% vote Democratic, ~54% Republican, and ~35% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Sumatra compares
Sumatra sits in a sparsely populated area with few comparable cities nearby.
Sumatra runs about 46 points more Republican than Montana as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Sumatra. The east side is the most Republican-leaning (R+72) and the south side is the least Republican-leaning (R+61), a spread of about 11 points.
Why Sumatra 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 Sumatra, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural areas vote Republican. About 2% of residents in Sumatra live in densely developed areas, about 12 points below the Montana average of 13%.
Population density and Republican lean
Places with low population density tend to lean Republican; Sumatra, MT sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Sumatra looks the way it does
Turnout in Sumatra sits close to the national pattern. Routine healthcare access, homeownership, education, and food security all land near their national averages here. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Big Horn, MT R+66
- Colstrip, MT R+52
- Sanders, MT R+71
- Hysham, MT R+66
- Busby, MT D+9
- Lame Deer, MT D+40
- Crow Agency, MT D+28
- Myers, MT R+66
- Hardin, MT R+18
- Forsyth, MT R+53
Cities with Similar Populations
- Sparksville, IN R+67
- Adamsville, AZ R+26
- Zion, LA R+90
- Sturges Corner, NY R+25
- East Freetown, NY R+48
- Tyndall AFB, FL R+31
- Pinhook Corner, OK R+57
- Tripoli, NY R+44
- Maple Grove, MI R+21
- Manzano, NM R+32
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Montana 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.