Shifting Tides: A Visual Breakdown of Lake County’s Election Results

Lake County, long a Democratic stronghold in deep-red Indiana, shows signs of a rightward shift. In the latest election, fewer residents across nearly every municipality voted Democratic, while President-elect Donald Trump made notable gains, even in historically blue cities and towns. Once a reliable base for Democratic candidates, Lake County's changing political landscape raises questions about evolving voter dynamics in Northwest Indiana.

The countywide shift tracks back through the last three election cycles. Republican straight-line party votes increased from just over 20,000 in 2016 to nearly 50,000 in 2020. Since then, the gap between parties has tightened significantly. Democratic straight-line party votes dropped more than 18,000 between 2020 and 2024. Despite lower voter turnout countywide, roughly 6,000 more Lake County residents voted for Trump.

Capital B Gary analyzed the latest election results across Lake County municipalities, creating visualizations that starkly illustrate the Democratic and Republican leanings in each community. The data reveals Cedar Lake and St. John as the county's reddest municipalities, while Gary and East Chicago remain its bluest. Highland and Hobart, however, show a nearly even split between Republican and Democratic voters.

Explore below to see how each city and town in Lake County voted in the presidential race, along with voter turnout data and shifts since 2020. The gap between parties has tightened significantly since the 2020 election.

Cedar Lake saw nearly 1,300 more people cast ballots in this year's election compared with the 2020 general election — the second-highest increase among municipalities in the county. Voter turnout held steady at 66%, and Cedar Lake recorded the county's highest percentage of votes for Trump.

Crown Point experienced a slight decline in voter turnout between the 2020 and 2024 elections, dropping from 69% to nearly 66%. The city saw a modest uptick of several hundred additional votes for Trump, while support for the Democratic candidate also decreased by a few hundred, with fewer voters backing Vice President Kamala Harris than had supported Biden in 2020.

In Dyer, the presidential election reinforced a Republican lean, with 56% of voters casting ballots for Trump in 2024 — a 6-point increase from 2020. The town also recorded a modest rise of around 100 additional Democratic votes in this year's election. With 67% voter turnout, Dyer boasted one of the highest participation rates in the county.

East Chicago's 42.55% voter turnout rate was the lowest in the county. In this predominantly Hispanic city, Democratic support saw a substantial decline, while Republican backing rose by 7 points, up from 11% in 2020 to 18% in 2024, the largest year-over-year percentage increase in the county. Harris received 2,000 fewer votes than Biden did in 2020, while Trump gained an additional 200 votes. Straight-ticket Democratic voting also dropped sharply, from 5,168 in 2020 to just 3,204 in this election.

Gary, home to Lake County's highest concentration of Black voters, had the second-lowest voter turnout rate in the county, with only 43% of registered voters showing up at the polls. Turnout in Gary was down more than 4% from 2020, and the city saw a notable decline in registered voters, dropping from 55,578 in 2020 to just 48,841 in 2024. The trend of small gains for Republicans was visible even in Gary, where Republican votes increased by 3% over the 2020 election.

Griffith saw approximately 1,100 fewer voters turnout on Election Day this year. For this blue-leaning town, the gap between Democratic and Republican support also narrowed, with nearly 900 fewer residents voting for Harris compared to Biden in 2020.

Hammond experienced a notable shift in voter behavior compared to 2020. Despite a decrease of approximately 3,000 voters, Trump received 400 more votes than in the previous election, while Harris received 4,000 fewer votes than Biden did in 2020. This trend aligns with statewide patterns, where Trump maintained strong support, particularly in rural areas, while Harris faced challenges in retaining the Democratic vote share.

In Highland, the voting trends echoed broader patterns seen across Northwest Indiana. Highland saw a modest decline in support for Harris compared with Biden's 2020 turnout, while Trump received a slight uptick in votes.

Hobart votes were nearly evenly split between Trump and Harris this election, marking a subtle political shift for a city that leaned slightly blue in the 2020.

In Lake Station, support for Trump surged over 2020, with an 11-point increase translating to 400 additional votes at the polls. The sharp rise underscores a shift toward Republican support in this traditionally Democratic area.

In Merrillville, a city with a 50% Black population, voter turnout decreased by 1,000 compared to the 2020 primary. Additionally, 2,000 fewer people voted for Harris in 2024 than voted for Biden in 2020.

In Munster, the electorate leaned slightly Democratic, with vote totals for each party holding steady compared to 2020.

In Schererville, which was nearly evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats in 2020, the gap widened in 2024, tilting more red. Trump gained an additional 400 votes over his 2020 count, contributing to a 4-point increase in the Republican share of the vote.

In St. John, Trump gained nearly 1,700 additional votes compared with the previous election — the largest increase of any municipality in the county. Harris also saw a slight uptick, with a few hundred additional votes, highlighting increased turnout for both parties but a stronger swing toward the Republican side. At 70%, St. John voters turned out at the highest percentage of all municipalities in the county.

In Whiting's precincts, voter turnout held steady at 54%. Despite nearly 200 fewer ballots cast overall, the Democratic vote count remained unchanged from 2020, yet its share of the total vote fell by 6 percentage points.