West Bench, Boise, ID Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in West Bench

By the BestNeighborhood data science team. Last updated May 2026.

West Bench is a true toss-up. About 52% of voters here vote Democratic and 48% Republican.

 

About 65% of adults in West Bench typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in West Bench, ~34% vote Democratic, ~31% Republican, and ~35% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How West Bench compares

Among neighborhoods within 5 miles, West Bench leans more Democratic than 4 of 14 neighbors.

West Bench runs about 41 points more Democratic than Idaho as a whole. Idaho leans Republican overall, while West Bench is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.

Why West Bench leans the way it does

This analysis examined 14,881 data points per neighborhood to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for West Bench, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.

Density pulls a place toward Democrats and a high white share pulls it toward Republicans. In West Bench the two roughly cancel. West Bench runs against the grain of Idaho, a Democratic-leaning pocket in a Republican-leaning state.

Walkability and Democratic lean

Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; West Bench, Boise, ID sits in the top quarter nationally on this measure. A walkable street grid does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban a place is.

Why turnout in West Bench looks the way it does

Turnout in West Bench 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.

Sources and methodology

Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Idaho Secretary 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.