Calhoun County is a Republican stronghold. About 22% of voters here vote Democratic and 78% Republican.
About 76% of adults in Calhoun County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Calhoun County, ~17% vote Democratic, ~59% Republican, and ~24% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Calhoun County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Calhoun County leans more Republican than 10 of 14 neighbors.
Calhoun County runs about 67 points more Republican than Illinois as a whole. Illinois leans Democratic overall, while Calhoun County is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Why Calhoun 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 Calhoun 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 Calhoun County, about 94% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 22 points above the U.S. average of 72%; about 19% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, about 7 points below the Illinois average of 27%. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 76% of households in Calhoun County are family households, above 96% of counties. Calhoun County runs against the grain of Illinois, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Paved land cover and Republican lean
Places with little paved surface tend to lean Republican; Calhoun County, IL sits in the bottom tenth 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 Calhoun County looks the way it does
Homeowners vote more often than renters. About 88% of households in Calhoun County own their home, about 9 points above the Illinois average of 80%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Jersey County, IL R+44
- Lincoln County, MO R+51
- Greene County, IL R+56
- St. Charles County, MO R+14
- Pike County, MO R+55
- Warren County, MO R+50
- St. Louis County, MO D+28
- Pike County, IL R+57
- Scott County, IL R+64
- Madison County, IL R+11
Counties with Similar Populations
- Guadalupe County, NM Even
- Wahkiakum County, WA R+19
- Mills County, TX R+72
- Dewey County, OK R+78
- Adams County, ID R+57
- Lincoln County, NV R+66
- Hickman County, KY R+61
- Phillips County, CO R+53
- Mineral County, MT R+53
- Schley County, GA R+60
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Illinois 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.