Edwards County is a Republican stronghold. About 18% of voters here vote Democratic and 82% Republican.
About 75% of adults in Edwards County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Edwards County, ~14% vote Democratic, ~61% Republican, and ~25% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Edwards County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Edwards County leans more Republican than 17 of 18 neighbors.
Edwards County runs about 75 points more Republican than Illinois as a whole. Illinois leans Democratic overall, while Edwards County is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Edwards County. The northwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+73) and the west side is the least Republican-leaning (R+57), a spread of about 16 points.
Why Edwards 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 Edwards 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 Edwards County, about 94% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 22 points above the U.S. average of 72%; about 14% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, about 12 points below the Illinois average of 27%. Edwards County runs against the grain of Illinois, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Park access and Republican lean
Places with low park coverage tend to lean Republican; Edwards County, IL 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 Edwards County looks the way it does
Turnout in Edwards County sits close to the national pattern. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Wabash County, IL R+51
- Wayne County, IL R+65
- Richland County, IL R+50
- White County, IL R+59
- Lawrence County, IL R+47
- Gibson County, IN R+49
- Posey County, IN R+45
- Clay County, IL R+63
- Hamilton County, IL R+62
- Knox County, IN R+41
Counties with Similar Populations
- Brown County, IL R+39
- Pawnee County, KS R+49
- Calhoun County, WV R+65
- Teton County, MT R+60
- Woodruff County, AR R+40
- Bland County, VA R+68
- Antelope County, NE R+71
- Osceola County, IA R+57
- Lafayette County, AR R+32
- Quitman County, MS D+44
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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.