Cherokee County leans heavily Republican by roughly 48 points: about 26% of voters vote Democratic and 74% Republican.
About 61% of adults in Cherokee County typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Cherokee County, ~16% vote Democratic, ~45% Republican, and ~39% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Cherokee County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Cherokee County leans more Republican than 5 of 7 neighbors.
Cherokee County runs about 34 points more Republican than Texas as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Cherokee County. The southwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+74) and the west side is the least Republican-leaning (R+33), a spread of about 41 points.
Why Cherokee 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 Cherokee County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many family households vote Republican. About 74% of households in Cherokee County are family households, about 8 points above the U.S. average of 67%.
Cancer-screening access and voter turnout
Places with low colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a lower rate; Cherokee County, TX sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.
Why turnout in Cherokee County looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Cherokee County is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 49%, about 11 points below the U.S. average of 60%. Low high-school completion lines up with lower turnout, and about 83% of adults in Cherokee County have completed high school, below 88% of counties. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Smith County, TX R+28
- Anderson County, TX R+41
- Rusk County, TX R+53
- Nacogdoches County, TX R+29
- Houston County, TX R+41
- Henderson County, TX R+60
- Gregg County, TX R+28
- Angelina County, TX R+41
- Panola County, TX R+62
- Upshur County, TX R+67
Counties with Similar Populations
- Gibson County, TN R+44
- Lincoln County, OR D+13
- Venango County, PA R+42
- Somerset County, ME R+29
- Bedford County, TN R+51
- Columbus County, NC R+27
- Dearborn County, IN R+53
- Polk County, TX R+50
- Carroll County, NH R+2
- Lamar County, TX R+50
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Texas Secretary of State, Elections Division, 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.