Douglas County is a Republican stronghold. About 16% of voters here vote Democratic and 84% Republican.
About 74% of adults in Douglas County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Douglas County, ~12% vote Democratic, ~62% Republican, and ~26% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Douglas County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Douglas County leans more Republican than 9 of 11 neighbors.
Douglas County runs about 39 points more Republican than South Dakota as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Douglas County. The southwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+75) and the south side is the least Republican-leaning (R+57), a spread of about 18 points.
Why Douglas 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 Douglas County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many family households vote Republican. About 71% of households in Douglas County are family households, above 82% of counties.
Park access and Republican lean
Places with low park coverage tend to lean Republican; Douglas County, SD sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Park access does not change how people vote; it tends to track denser, higher-income areas.
Why turnout in Douglas County looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Douglas County 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 67%, about 7 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Charles Mix County, SD R+39
- Aurora County, SD R+59
- Davison County, SD R+43
- Hutchinson County, SD R+65
- Hanson County, SD R+72
- Bon Homme County, SD R+58
- Boyd County, NE R+75
- Sanborn County, SD R+59
- Gregory County, SD R+65
- Brule County, SD R+52
Counties with Similar Populations
- Perkins County, SD R+68
- Hall County, TX R+63
- Clay County, GA D+18
- Perkins County, NE R+76
- Trego County, KS R+67
- Jackson County, SD R+9
- Baker County, GA R+16
- Glascock County, GA R+80
- Sherman County, TX R+69
- Franklin County, NE R+69
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from South Dakota 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.