Tahlequah leans Republican by roughly 16 points: about 42% of voters vote Democratic and 58% Republican.
About 53% of adults in Tahlequah typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Tahlequah, ~22% vote Democratic, ~31% Republican, and ~47% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Tahlequah compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Tahlequah is the least Republican-leaning.
Tahlequah runs about 33 points more Democratic than Oklahoma as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Tahlequah. The northeast side is the most Republican-leaning (R+31) and the south side is the least Republican-leaning (R+7), a spread of about 24 points.
Why Tahlequah 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 Tahlequah, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Tahlequah votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 42%, well above the Oklahoma average of 18%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here.
Never-married share, developed land, and voter turnout
Places that combine a never-married-heavy adult population and a heavily developed built environment tend to turn out at a lower rate, as Tahlequah, OK does.
Why turnout in Tahlequah looks the way it does
Renters vote less often than owners. About 45% of households in Tahlequah rent, about 20 points above the U.S. average of 25%. Limited routine healthcare access lines up with lower turnout, and Tahlequah sits in the bottom quarter on routine-care measures. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 23% of adults in Tahlequah report food insecurity, above 87% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Gideon, OK R+48
- Park Hill, OK R+35
- Moodys, OK R+44
- Welling, OK R+40
- Pettit, OK R+46
- Lost City, OK R+44
- McBride, OK R+38
- Hulbert, OK R+47
- Proctor, OK R+60
Cities with Similar Populations
- Whiting, NJ R+21
- Gibsonia, PA R+11
- Roanoke, TX R+27
- Macungie, PA R+3
- Ennis, TX R+28
- Lafayette, CA D+48
- Sherwood, OR D+14
- Imperial Beach, CA D+16
- Farmington, NM R+33
- Sidney, OH R+46
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Oklahoma State Election Board, 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.