Garfield County is a Republican stronghold. About 17% of voters here vote Democratic and 83% Republican.
About more than 99% of adults in Garfield County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Garfield County, ~17% vote Democratic, ~83% Republican, and ~0% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Garfield County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Garfield County leans more Republican than 1 of 8 neighbors.
Garfield County runs about 46 points more Republican than Nebraska as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Garfield County. The southeast side is the most Republican-leaning (R+77) and the west side is the least Republican-leaning (R+61), a spread of about 16 points.
Why Garfield 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 Garfield County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many family households vote Republican. About 73% of households in Garfield County are family households, about 7 points above the U.S. average of 67%.
Population density and Republican lean
Places with low population density tend to lean Republican; Garfield County, NE sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Garfield County looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Garfield 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 68%, about 8 points above the U.S. average of 60%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 95% of adults in Garfield County have completed high school, above 94% of counties. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Loup County, NE R+72
- Valley County, NE R+67
- Wheeler County, NE R+72
- Greeley County, NE R+68
- Sherman County, NE R+64
- Custer County, NE R+68
- Blaine County, NE R+81
- Holt County, NE R+69
- Howard County, NE R+64
- Rock County, NE R+74
Counties with Similar Populations
- Boyd County, NE R+75
- Steele County, ND R+33
- Deuel County, NE R+71
- Armstrong County, TX R+77
- Eureka County, NV R+72
- Dickens County, TX R+72
- Oldham County, TX R+80
- Sherman County, OR R+59
- Haakon County, SD R+71
- Garden County, NE R+70
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Nebraska 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.