Burke County is a Republican stronghold. About 12% of voters here vote Democratic and 88% Republican.
About 65% of adults in Burke County typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Burke County, ~8% vote Democratic, ~57% Republican, and ~35% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Burke County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Burke County is the most Republican-leaning.
Burke County runs about 40 points more Republican than North Dakota as a whole.
Why Burke 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 Burke County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural areas vote Republican. About 4% of residents in Burke County live in densely developed areas, about 7 points below the North Dakota average of 12%.
Population density and Republican lean
Places with low population density tend to lean Republican; Burke County, ND sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Burke County looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Burke 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 67%, about 7 points above the U.S. average of 60%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 94% of adults in Burke County have completed high school, above 80% of counties. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Divide County, ND R+59
- Mountrail County, ND R+35
- Renville County, ND R+65
- Williams County, ND R+61
- Ward County, ND R+32
- McKenzie County, ND R+56
- Bottineau County, ND R+50
- Sheridan County, MT R+58
- McHenry County, ND R+61
- Dunn County, ND R+53
Counties with Similar Populations
- Adams County, ND R+62
- Divide County, ND R+59
- Robertson County, KY R+61
- Greeley County, NE R+68
- Culberson County, TX R+18
- Highland County, VA R+46
- Quitman County, GA R+17
- Towner County, ND R+45
- Wichita County, KS R+59
- Wrangell City and Borough, AK R+8
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from North 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.