Butler County is a Republican stronghold. About 19% of voters here vote Democratic and 81% Republican.
About 78% of adults in Butler County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Butler County, ~15% vote Democratic, ~63% Republican, and ~22% 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 11 of 12 neighbors.
Butler County runs about 41 points more Republican than Nebraska 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.
Rural areas with a high white share vote Republican. Butler County sits in the bottom quarter on density and about 90% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 18 points above the U.S. average of 72%.
Population density and Republican lean
Places with low population density tend to lean Republican; Butler County, NE sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure.
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
- Colfax County, NE R+27
- Platte County, NE R+48
- Polk County, NE R+62
- Seward County, NE R+52
- Saunders County, NE R+46
- Dodge County, NE R+31
- York County, NE R+52
- Lancaster County, NE D+7
- Nance County, NE R+60
- Saline County, NE R+38
Counties with Similar Populations
- Perry County, TN R+73
- Coffey County, KS R+58
- Webster County, WV R+68
- Cedar County, NE R+67
- Mercer County, ND R+65
- Knox County, NE R+56
- Bracken County, KY R+58
- Keith County, NE R+60
- Rosebud County, MT R+20
- Custer County, SD R+53
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Nebraska 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.