Lee County is a Republican stronghold. About 17% of voters here vote Democratic and 83% Republican.
About 55% of adults in Lee County typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Lee County, ~9% vote Democratic, ~46% Republican, and ~45% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Lee County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Lee County leans more Republican than 16 of 23 neighbors.
Lee County runs about 36 points more Republican than Kentucky as a whole.
Why Lee 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 Lee County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with low college attainment vote Republican. About 9% of adults in Lee County hold a bachelor's degree, about 9 points below the Kentucky average of 19%. Rural areas vote Republican, and Lee County sits in the bottom quarter on density (about 9%, below 83% of counties).
Population density and Republican lean
Places with low population density tend to lean Republican; Lee County, KY sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Lee County looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Lee County is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 44%, about 11 points below the Kentucky average of 54%. Low high-school completion lines up with lower turnout, and about 75% of adults in Lee County have completed high school, below 98% of counties. High-crime urban areas turn out at lower rates, and Lee County sits in the top 15% on a violent-crime measure. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Owsley County, KY R+74
- Wolfe County, KY R+57
- Estill County, KY R+63
- Breathitt County, KY R+62
- Powell County, KY R+60
- Jackson County, KY R+73
- Menifee County, KY R+64
- Clay County, KY R+72
- Morgan County, KY R+64
- Madison County, KY R+26
Counties with Similar Populations
- Wallowa County, OR R+20
- Chariton County, MO R+61
- Gilmer County, WV R+40
- Castro County, TX R+40
- Hutchinson County, SD R+65
- Lake County, CO D+25
- Elliott County, KY R+57
- Grant County, KS R+59
- Rappahannock County, VA R+17
- Worth County, IA R+37
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Kentucky 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.