Harding County is a Republican stronghold. About 6% of voters here vote Democratic and 94% Republican.
About 62% of adults in Harding County typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Harding County, ~4% vote Democratic, ~58% Republican, and ~38% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Harding County compares
Harding County sits in a sparsely populated area with few comparable counties nearby.
Harding County runs about 59 points more Republican than South Dakota as a whole.
Why Harding 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 Harding County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural areas with a high white share vote Republican. Harding County sits in the bottom quarter on density and about 91% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 11 points above the South Dakota average of 81%.
Developed land and Republican lean
Places with a rural land-use pattern tend to lean Republican; Harding County, SD sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Developed land does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban a place is.
Why turnout in Harding County looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Harding 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 71%, about 11 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Bowman County, ND R+65
- Carter County, MT R+78
- Adams County, ND R+62
- Slope County, ND R+74
- Perkins County, SD R+68
- Fallon County, MT R+71
- Butte County, SD R+62
- Hettinger County, ND R+69
- Lawrence County, SD R+37
- Golden Valley County, ND R+69
Counties with Similar Populations
- Issaquena County, MS R+11
- Greeley County, KS R+68
- Sheridan County, ND R+69
- Hyde County, SD R+60
- Rock County, NE R+74
- Sterling County, TX R+80
- Stonewall County, TX R+68
- Campbell County, SD R+66
- Jackson County, CO R+42
- Cottle County, TX R+57
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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.