Traverse Bay leans Republican by roughly 22 points: about 39% of voters vote Democratic and 61% Republican.
About 75% of adults in Traverse Bay typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Traverse Bay, ~29% vote Democratic, ~46% Republican, and ~25% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Traverse Bay compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Traverse Bay leans more Republican than 27 of 37 neighbors.
Traverse Bay runs about 20 points more Republican than Michigan as a whole.
Why Traverse Bay 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 Traverse Bay, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural areas with a high white share vote Republican. Traverse Bay sits in the bottom quarter on density and about 98% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 16 points above the Michigan average of 83%.
Paved land cover and Republican lean
Places with little paved surface tend to lean Republican; Traverse Bay, MI sits in the bottom quarter 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 Traverse Bay looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Traverse Bay 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%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 94% of households in Traverse Bay own their home, about 19 points above the U.S. average of 75%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 96% of adults in Traverse Bay have completed high school, above 81% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Lake Linden, MI R+18
- Hubbell, MI R+22
- Copper City, MI R+25
- Senter, MI R+10
- Osceola, MI R+23
- Laurium, MI R+5
- Kearsarge, MI R+16
- Calumet, MI R+12
- Ahmeek, MI R+10
Cities with Similar Populations
- Brant, NY R+39
- Broadwell, IL R+49
- Harrisburg, AL R+31
- Hamburg, MS D+25
- Twilight, WV R+67
- New Kingston, NY D+6
- Caroline, OH R+56
- Oscar, KY R+61
- Caddo, TX R+77
- Poplar Grove, PA R+51
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Michigan Department 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.