Bracken County is a Republican stronghold. About 21% of voters here vote Democratic and 79% Republican.
About 70% of adults in Bracken County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Bracken County, ~15% vote Democratic, ~55% Republican, and ~30% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Bracken County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Bracken County leans more Republican than 14 of 25 neighbors.
Bracken County runs about 28 points more Republican than Kentucky as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Bracken County. The southwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+63) and the northeast side is the least Republican-leaning (R+39), a spread of about 23 points.
Why Bracken 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 Bracken County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with a high white share and below-average college attainment vote Republican. In Bracken County, about 95% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 22 points above the U.S. average of 72%; about 18% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, about 11 points below the U.S. average of 28%. Rural areas vote Republican, and Bracken County sits in the bottom quarter on density (about 10%, below 82% of counties). A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 76% of households in Bracken County are family households, above 97% of counties.
Paved land cover and Republican lean
Places with little paved surface tend to lean Republican; Bracken County, KY 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 Bracken County looks the way it does
Turnout in Bracken County sits close to the national pattern. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Robertson County, KY R+61
- Pendleton County, KY R+62
- Mason County, KY R+42
- Brown County, OH R+61
- Harrison County, KY R+51
- Nicholas County, KY R+60
- Grant County, KY R+62
- Clermont County, OH R+37
- Fleming County, KY R+61
- Campbell County, KY R+16
Counties with Similar Populations
- Knox County, NE R+56
- Cedar County, NE R+67
- Webster County, WV R+68
- Daviess County, MO R+63
- Butler County, NE R+62
- Maries County, MO R+66
- Perry County, TN R+73
- Warren County, IN R+58
- Coffey County, KS R+58
- Ritchie County, WV R+68
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Kentucky State Board 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.