Kearney leans Republican by roughly 28 points: about 36% of voters vote Democratic and 64% Republican.
About 71% of adults in Kearney typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Kearney, ~26% vote Democratic, ~46% Republican, and ~28% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Kearney compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Kearney is the least Republican-leaning.
Kearney runs about 8 points more Republican than Nebraska as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Kearney. The southeast side is the most Republican-leaning (R+39) and the west side is the least Republican-leaning (R+13), a spread of about 26 points.
Why Kearney 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 Kearney, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Kearney votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 67%, far above the Nebraska average of 17%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here.
Walkability and Democratic lean
Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; Kearney, NE 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 Kearney looks the way it does
Turnout in Kearney 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
- Riverdale, NE R+65
- Odessa, NE R+67
- Lowell, NE R+61
- Gibbon, NE R+49
- Axtell, NE R+62
- Amherst, NE R+67
- Elm Creek, NE R+63
- Minden, NE R+57
- Pleasanton, NE R+70
- Funk, NE R+78
Cities with Similar Populations
- Peachtree City, GA R+18
- Fairborn, OH R+11
- Bangor, ME D+13
- South Salt Lake, UT D+38
- East Point, GA D+80
- Belton, TX R+32
- Summit, AZ D+22
- San Juan, TX Even
- Claremont, CA D+34
- Security-Widefield, CO R+10
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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.