Benzie County leans slightly Republican by roughly 10 points: about 45% of voters vote Democratic and 55% Republican.
About 88% of adults in Benzie County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Benzie County, ~40% vote Democratic, ~48% Republican, and ~12% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Benzie County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Benzie County leans more Republican than 2 of 9 neighbors.
Benzie County runs about 9 points more Republican than Michigan as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Benzie County. The west side runs the most Democratic (D+15) and the southeast side runs the most Republican (R+36), a spread of about 51 points.
Why Benzie 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 Benzie County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural areas vote Republican. About 10% of residents in Benzie County live in densely developed areas, about 21 points below the Michigan average of 31%.
Cancer-screening access and voter turnout
Places with high colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Benzie County, MI sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.
Why turnout in Benzie County looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Benzie County 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 71%, about 11 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 88% of households in Benzie County own their home, in the top fraction of counties. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 94% of adults in Benzie County have completed high school, above 84% of counties. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Grand Traverse County, MI R+3
- Leelanau County, MI Even
- Manistee County, MI R+18
- Wexford County, MI R+33
- Kalkaska County, MI R+42
- Antrim County, MI R+21
- Missaukee County, MI R+49
- Lake County, MI R+30
- Mason County, MI R+20
- Osceola County, MI R+46
Counties with Similar Populations
- Madison County, FL R+18
- Grant County, AR R+71
- Russell County, KY R+67
- Johnson County, TN R+67
- Southampton County, VA R+22
- Kalkaska County, MI R+42
- Bertie County, NC D+19
- Unicoi County, TN R+57
- Brantley County, GA R+80
- Banks County, GA R+78
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.