Bennett County leans slightly Republican by roughly 6 points: about 47% of voters vote Democratic and 53% Republican.
About 66% of adults in Bennett County typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Bennett County, ~31% vote Democratic, ~35% Republican, and ~34% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Bennett County compares
Bennett County sits in a sparsely populated area with few comparable counties nearby.
Bennett County runs about 22 points more Democratic than South Dakota as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Bennett County. The north side runs the most Democratic (Even) and the southwest side runs the most Republican (R+17), a spread of about 18 points.
Why Bennett County leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per county to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Bennett County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many family households vote Republican. About 78% of households in Bennett County are family households, about 12 points above the U.S. average of 67%. Rural areas vote Republican, and Bennett County sits in the bottom quarter on density (about 7%, below 90% of counties).
Paved land cover and Republican lean
Places with little paved surface tend to lean Republican; Bennett County, SD sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure. Paved ground does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban and built-up a place is.
Why turnout in Bennett County looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Bennett County is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Jackson County, SD R+9
- Sheridan County, NE R+68
- Todd County, SD D+57
- Mellette County, SD R+25
- Cherry County, NE R+67
- Haakon County, SD R+71
- Dawes County, NE R+39
- Jones County, SD R+72
- Grant County, NE R+84
- Fall River County, SD R+52
Counties with Similar Populations
- Hemphill County, TX R+66
- Nance County, NE R+60
- Chautauqua County, KS R+73
- Reagan County, TX R+55
- Sutton County, TX R+46
- Webster County, NE R+69
- Foster County, ND R+50
- Petersburg Census Area, AK R+4
- Traverse County, MN R+42
- Knox County, TX R+66
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from South Dakota 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.