El Paso County leans slightly Republican by roughly 8 points: about 46% of voters vote Democratic and 54% Republican.
About 75% of adults in El Paso County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in El Paso County, ~35% vote Democratic, ~41% Republican, and ~24% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How El Paso County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, El Paso County leans more Republican than 2 of 5 neighbors.
El Paso County runs about 18 points more Republican than Colorado as a whole. Colorado leans Democratic overall, while El Paso County is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by city within El Paso County. The west side runs the most Democratic (D+18) and the northeast side runs the most Republican (R+28), a spread of about 46 points.
Why El Paso 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 El Paso County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
El Paso County votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 78%, far above the Colorado average of 35%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here. El Paso County runs against the grain of Colorado, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Walkability and Democratic lean
Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; El Paso County, CO sits in the top 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 El Paso County looks the way it does
Areas with high high-school completion turn out at higher rates. About 95% of adults in El Paso County have completed high school, about 5 points above the U.S. average of 90%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Teller County, CO R+23
- Elbert County, CO R+46
- Fremont County, CO R+25
- Douglas County, CO R+7
- Pueblo County, CO Even
- Arapahoe County, CO D+22
- Park County, CO R+9
- Denver County, CO D+53
- Custer County, CO R+33
- Jefferson County, CO D+18
Counties with Similar Populations
- Norfolk County, MA D+30
- Polk County, FL R+18
- Hudson County, NJ D+27
- Jackson County, MO D+24
- Davidson County, TN D+26
- Denver County, CO D+53
- Lake County, IL D+22
- Monroe County, NY D+25
- Lee County, FL R+19
- DeKalb County, GA D+63
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Colorado 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.