Bolivar, TN Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Bolivar

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

Bolivar leans Democratic by roughly 18 points: about 59% of voters vote Democratic and 41% Republican.

 

About 70% of adults in Bolivar typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Bolivar, ~41% vote Democratic, ~29% Republican, and ~30% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Bolivar compares

Among cities within 25 miles, Bolivar leans more Democratic than 47 of 49 neighbors.

Bolivar runs about 49 points more Democratic than Tennessee as a whole. Tennessee leans Republican overall, while Bolivar is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.

Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Bolivar. The north side runs the most Democratic (D+64) and the northwest side runs the most Republican (R+15), a spread of about 79 points.

Why Bolivar 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 Bolivar, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.

Density combined with diversity predicts Democratic voting. Non-Hispanic white share in Bolivar is about 37%, about 36 points below the U.S. average of 72%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 41% of adults in Bolivar have never been married, above 94% of cities. Bolivar runs against the grain of Tennessee, a Democratic-leaning pocket in a Republican-leaning state.

Preventive-care access and voter turnout

Places with limited routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a lower rate; Bolivar, TN sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure. Dental visits do not drive turnout; the rate reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access, which line up with who votes.

Why turnout in Bolivar looks the way it does

Limited routine healthcare access lines up with lower turnout, and Bolivar sits in the bottom quarter on routine-care measures. 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 Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of 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.