The Dalles leans slightly Republican by roughly 10 points: about 45% of voters vote Democratic and 55% Republican.
About 75% of adults in The Dalles typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in The Dalles, ~34% vote Democratic, ~41% Republican, and ~25% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How The Dalles compares
Among cities within 25 miles, The Dalles leans more Republican than 10 of 25 neighbors.
The Dalles runs about 25 points more Republican than Oregon as a whole. Oregon leans Democratic overall, while The Dalles is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within The Dalles. The northeast side is the most split-leaning (R+46) and the south side is the least split-leaning (Even), a spread of about 44 points.
Why The Dalles 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 The Dalles, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
The Dalles votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 62%, far above the Oregon average of 31%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here. The Dalles runs against the grain of Oregon, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Paved land cover and Democratic lean
Places with extensive paved surfaces tend to lean Democratic; The Dalles, OR sits in the top 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 The Dalles looks the way it does
Turnout in The Dalles 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
- Dallesport, WA R+33
- Chenoweth, OR R+20
- Lyle, WA R+23
- Mosier, OR R+4
- Dufur, OR R+45
- Wishram, WA R+39
- Friend, OR R+44
- Klickitat, WA R+29
- Centerville, WA R+38
- Appleton, WA R+25
Cities with Similar Populations
- Lackawanna, NY D+3
- Canyon Lake, TX R+48
- Forest Lake, MN R+7
- Bryn Mawr, PA D+40
- Howard, WI R+12
- Fulshear, TX R+25
- Watervliet, NY D+17
- North Ogden, UT R+28
- Fort Payne, AL R+63
- Mattoon, IL R+33
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Oregon Secretary of State, Elections Division, 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.