Van Buren leans heavily Republican by roughly 32 points: about 34% of voters vote Democratic and 66% Republican. These figures are model estimates: Maine did not have precinct-level voting records available for training, so the numbers above come from demographic and health features rather than local ground truth.
About 78% of adults in Van Buren typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Van Buren, ~27% vote Democratic, ~51% Republican, and ~22% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Van Buren compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Van Buren leans more Republican than 5 of 24 neighbors.
Van Buren runs about 39 points more Republican than Maine as a whole. Maine leans Democratic overall, while Van Buren is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Van Buren. The northwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+38) and the north side is the least Republican-leaning (R+25), a spread of about 13 points.
Why Van Buren 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 Van Buren, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Van Buren votes against the grain of Maine. Maine leans Democratic overall, while Van Buren runs about 39 points more Republican. A high white share with below-average college attainment predicts Republican voting, and Van Buren fits that profile on both counts.
Preventive-care access and voter turnout
Places with limited routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a lower rate; Van Buren, ME sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure. Dental visits do not drive turnout; the rate reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access, which line up with who votes.
Why turnout in Van Buren looks the way it does
Turnout in Van Buren 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
- Parent, ME R+36
- Lille, ME R+37
- North Lyndon, ME R+38
- Stockholm, ME R+37
- Loring Air Force Base, ME R+33
- Grand Isle, ME R+37
- Jemtland, ME R+36
- New Sweden, ME R+36
Cities with Similar Populations
- Cheshire, MA Even
- Fairbank, IA R+44
- Manson, NC D+28
- Leon, IA R+50
- Sattler, TX R+58
- Plainville, GA R+74
- Huntsville, OH R+56
- Landover Hills, MD D+60
- Shoals, IN R+61
- Corning, IA R+41
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Maine Secretary of State, Bureau of Corporations Elections and Commissions, 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. ME did not have precinct-level voting records available for training, so the figures here come from extrapolation across demographic, health, and land-use features rather than local ground truth. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.
Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.