Butler County is a Republican stronghold. About 17% of voters here vote Democratic and 83% Republican.
About 65% of adults in Butler County typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Butler County, ~11% vote Democratic, ~54% Republican, and ~35% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Butler County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Butler County leans more Republican than 15 of 16 neighbors.
Butler County runs about 36 points more Republican than Kentucky as a whole.
Why Butler 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 Butler County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with low college attainment vote Republican. About 10% of adults in Butler County hold a bachelor's degree, about 9 points below the Kentucky average of 19%. Rural areas with a high white share vote Republican. Non-Hispanic white share in Butler County is about 92%, about 19 points above the U.S. average of 72%.
Walkability and Republican lean
Places with a low walkability score tend to lean Republican; Butler County, KY sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. A walkable street grid does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban a place is.
Why turnout in Butler County looks the way it does
Turnout in Butler County sits close to the national pattern. Routine healthcare access, homeownership, education, and food security all land near their national averages here. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Ohio County, KY R+63
- Warren County, KY R+16
- Edmonson County, KY R+67
- Muhlenberg County, KY R+55
- Logan County, KY R+56
- Grayson County, KY R+63
- Simpson County, KY R+42
- McLean County, KY R+58
- Todd County, KY R+59
- Breckinridge County, KY R+58
Counties with Similar Populations
- Monroe County, WV R+63
- Stone County, AR R+63
- Colfax County, NM R+10
- Sumter County, AL D+43
- Sanders County, MT R+54
- Grundy County, IA R+42
- Appanoose County, IA R+43
- Menard County, IL R+41
- Morgan County, UT R+63
- Braxton County, WV R+57
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.