Clifton is a Republican stronghold. About 18% of voters here vote Democratic and 82% Republican.
About 37% of adults in Clifton typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Clifton, ~7% vote Democratic, ~31% Republican, and ~62% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Clifton compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Clifton is the least Republican-leaning.
Clifton runs about 33 points more Republican than Tennessee as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Clifton. The northeast side is the most Republican-leaning (R+76) and the west side is the least Republican-leaning (R+56), a spread of about 20 points.
Why Clifton 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 Clifton, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with low college attainment vote Republican. About 9% of adults in Clifton hold a bachelor's degree, about 12 points below the Tennessee average of 22%. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 85% of households in Clifton are family households, above 96% of cities.
Cancer-screening access and voter turnout
Places with low colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a lower rate; Clifton, TN 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 Clifton looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Clifton 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 48%, about 8 points below the Tennessee average of 56%. Low high-school completion lines up with lower turnout, and about 83% of adults in Clifton have completed high school, below 85% of cities. High-crime urban areas turn out at lower rates, and Clifton sits in the top 15% on a violent-crime measure. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Bath Springs, TN R+72
- Swift, TN R+78
- Olivehill, TN R+76
- Dunbar, TN R+72
- Leatherwood, TN R+70
- Cerro Gordo, TN R+74
- Saltillo, TN R+73
- Waynesboro, TN R+71
- Decaturville, TN R+71
- Moccasin, TN R+75
Cities with Similar Populations
- Waverly, AL R+35
- Point, TX R+78
- Hudson Oaks, TX R+57
- New Salisbury, IN R+50
- Orwell, OH R+51
- Hesperia, MI R+41
- Janesville, MN R+35
- Pierceton, IN R+54
- St. Johnsville, NY R+41
- Pleasant Hills, MD R+17
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Tennessee Secretary of State, Division 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.