Washington leans heavily Republican by roughly 36 points: about 32% of voters vote Democratic and 68% Republican.
About 96% of adults in Washington typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Washington, ~31% vote Democratic, ~65% Republican, and ~4% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Washington compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Washington leans more Republican than 65 of 92 neighbors.
Washington runs about 35 points more Republican than Michigan as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Washington. The east side is the most Republican-leaning (R+42) and the south side is the least Republican-leaning (R+28), a spread of about 14 points.
Why Washington 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 Washington, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Washington votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 66%, far above the Michigan average of 31%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 75% of households in Washington are family households, above 76% of cities.
Preventive-care access and voter turnout
Places with strong routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Washington, MI sits in the top tenth 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 Washington looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Washington 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 74%, about 14 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Romeo, MI R+32
- Utica, MI R+22
- Ray, MI R+50
- Rochester, MI Even
- Oakland, MI R+20
- Macomb, MI R+28
- Rochester Hills, MI D+5
- Lakeville, MI R+33
- Leonard, MI R+36
- Armada, MI R+43
Cities with Similar Populations
- Fountain Hills, AZ R+21
- Flat Rock, MI R+12
- Hingham, MA D+28
- Inverness, FL R+42
- Onalaska, WI D+6
- Beckley, WV R+19
- Zebulon, NC R+8
- Greenbelt, MD D+69
- Valinda, CA D+24
- Edgewood, MD D+34
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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.