California is a Republican stronghold. About 23% of voters here vote Democratic and 77% Republican.
About 78% of adults in California typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in California, ~18% vote Democratic, ~60% Republican, and ~22% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How California compares
Among cities within 25 miles, California leans more Republican than 74 of 136 neighbors.
California runs about 23 points more Republican than Kentucky as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within California. The southeast side is the most Republican-leaning (R+60) and the north side is the least Republican-leaning (R+49), a spread of about 12 points.
Why California leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per city to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for California, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many family households vote Republican. About 82% of households in California are family households, about 16 points above the U.S. average of 67%.
Walkability and Republican lean
Places with a low walkability score tend to lean Republican; California, 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 California looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. California 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 65%, about 5 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 91% of households in California own their home, about 16 points above the U.S. average of 75%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Mentor, KY R+49
- Carthage, KY R+51
- Grants Lick, KY R+55
- Mount Pisgah, OH R+49
- New Richmond, OH R+50
- Alexandria, KY R+43
- Moscow, OH R+60
- Point Isabel, OH R+59
Cities with Similar Populations
- Stover, MO R+65
- Blooming Prairie, MN R+31
- Pawnee, IL R+39
- Fife Lake, MI R+40
- Union City, OH R+59
- Refugio, TX R+32
- Knoxville, MD R+19
- Choudrant, LA R+73
- Shelby, MT R+33
- Emporium, PA R+44
All Local Stats
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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.