Gays is a Republican stronghold. About 19% of voters here vote Democratic and 81% Republican.
About 77% of adults in Gays typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Gays, ~15% vote Democratic, ~62% Republican, and ~23% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Gays compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Gays leans more Republican than 36 of 64 neighbors.
Gays runs about 72 points more Republican than Illinois as a whole. Illinois leans Democratic overall, while Gays is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Why Gays 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 Gays, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Gays votes against the grain of Illinois. Illinois leans Democratic overall, while Gays runs about 72 points more Republican. Low college attainment predicts Republican voting, and Gays sits in the bottom quarter (about 12%, below 89% of cities).
Walkability and Republican lean
Places with a low walkability score tend to lean Republican; Gays, IL sits in the bottom quarter 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 Gays looks the way it does
Turnout in Gays sits close to the national pattern. Routine healthcare access, homeownership, education, and food security all land near their national averages here. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Paradise, IL R+59
- Magnet, IL R+54
- Windsor Shelby County, IL R+62
- Mattoon, IL R+33
- Bruce, IL R+57
- Allenville, IL R+60
- Trowbridge, IL R+67
- Neoga, IL R+57
- Strasburg, IL R+64
- Trilla, IL R+60
Cities with Similar Populations
- Forest Lake, PA R+50
- Somerset, VA R+32
- Menola, NC Even
- Fedhaven, FL R+62
- Shamrock, WI R+40
- Gadsden, AZ D+8
- Pintura, UT R+52
- Oakfield, ME R+45
- Old Sparta, NC R+16
- Safe, MO R+65
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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.