Lake Murray Shores is a Republican stronghold. About 23% of voters here vote Democratic and 77% Republican.
About 89% of adults in Lake Murray Shores typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Lake Murray Shores, ~21% vote Democratic, ~69% Republican, and ~10% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Lake Murray Shores compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Lake Murray Shores leans more Republican than 40 of 51 neighbors.
Lake Murray Shores runs about 37 points more Republican than South Carolina as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Lake Murray Shores. The southwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+63) and the northeast side is the least Republican-leaning (R+49), a spread of about 14 points.
Why Lake Murray Shores 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 Lake Murray Shores, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many family households vote Republican. About 76% of households in Lake Murray Shores are family households, about 9 points above the U.S. average of 67%.
Walkability and Republican lean
Places with a low walkability score tend to lean Republican; Lake Murray Shores, SC 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 Lake Murray Shores looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Lake Murray Shores 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 72%, about 12 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Prosperity, SC R+46
- Stoney Hill, SC R+59
- Slighs, SC R+46
- Little Mountain, SC R+50
- Chapin, SC R+40
- Gilbert, SC R+61
- Leesville, SC R+61
- Mount Willing, SC R+63
- Summit, SC R+65
- Batesburg-Leesville, SC R+11
Cities with Similar Populations
- Wootens Crossroads, NC R+23
- Blakesburg, IA R+53
- Benton, OH R+75
- Reynolds, ND R+43
- Winkelman, AZ D+3
- Golden, IL R+72
- Emhouse, TX R+46
- Richford, NY R+40
- Simla, CO R+63
- Bay City, WI R+35
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from South Carolina State Election Commission, 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.