Howard County is a Republican stronghold. About 18% of voters here vote Democratic and 82% Republican.
About 86% of adults in Howard County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Howard County, ~15% vote Democratic, ~71% Republican, and ~14% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Howard County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Howard County leans more Republican than 7 of 12 neighbors.
Howard County runs about 43 points more Republican than Nebraska as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Howard County. The southeast side is the most Republican-leaning (R+72) and the east side is the least Republican-leaning (R+58), a spread of about 14 points.
Why Howard 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 Howard County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural areas with a high white share vote Republican. Howard County sits in the bottom quarter on density and about 91% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 19 points above the U.S. average of 72%. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 72% of households in Howard County are family households, above 87% of counties.
Population density and Republican lean
Places with low population density tend to lean Republican; Howard County, NE sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Howard County looks the way it does
Areas with high high-school completion turn out at higher rates. About 96% of adults in Howard County have completed high school, about 6 points above the U.S. average of 90%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Hall County, NE R+26
- Merrick County, NE R+60
- Sherman County, NE R+64
- Greeley County, NE R+68
- Hamilton County, NE R+61
- Nance County, NE R+60
- Valley County, NE R+67
- Boone County, NE R+64
- Adams County, NE R+42
- Buffalo County, NE R+36
Counties with Similar Populations
- Dallas County, AR R+18
- Moore County, TN R+69
- Wayne County, IA R+56
- Wilkin County, MN R+39
- Norman County, MN R+27
- Fulton County, KY R+41
- Randolph County, GA D+3
- Rio Blanco County, CO R+46
- Treutlen County, GA R+35
- Surry County, VA D+2
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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.