Willow River leans heavily Republican by roughly 42 points: about 29% of voters vote Democratic and 71% Republican.
About 58% of adults in Willow River typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Willow River, ~17% vote Democratic, ~41% Republican, and ~42% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Willow River compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Willow River leans more Republican than 18 of 22 neighbors.
Willow River runs about 47 points more Republican than Minnesota as a whole. Minnesota leans Democratic overall, while Willow River is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Why Willow River 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 Willow River, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Willow River votes against the grain of Minnesota. Minnesota leans Democratic overall, while Willow River runs about 47 points more Republican. Low college attainment predicts Republican voting, and Willow River sits in the bottom quarter (about 15%, below 76% of cities).
Non-English at home and voter turnout
Places with a high non-English-at-home share tend to turn out at a lower rate; Willow River, MN sits above the national average on this measure.
Why turnout in Willow River looks the way it does
High-crime urban areas turn out at lower rates, mostly because the housing stress common in those areas makes voting harder. Willow River sits in the top 15% nationally on a violent-crime measure. See CrimeGrade for more details. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Rutledge, MN R+45
- Sturgeon Lake, MN R+37
- Denham, MN R+44
- Askov, MN R+39
- Kerrick, MN R+27
- Moose Lake, MN R+13
- Bruno, MN R+33
- Finlayson, MN R+43
- Kettle River, MN R+28
- Duquette, MN R+27
Cities with Similar Populations
- Powells Point, NC R+41
- Kiker, GA R+63
- Escatawpa, MS R+25
- Banks, AL R+47
- East Butler, PA R+44
- Mechanicstown, OH R+66
- East Alto Bonito, TX R+14
- Lawrence, WI R+36
- Oliphant Furnace, PA R+55
- Timbo, AR R+64
All Local Stats
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Minnesota 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.