Lee County leans Democratic by roughly 20 points: about 60% of voters vote Democratic and 40% Republican.
About 68% of adults in Lee County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Lee County, ~41% vote Democratic, ~27% Republican, and ~32% 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 Democratic than 9 of 11 neighbors.
Lee County runs about 38 points more Democratic than South Carolina as a whole. South Carolina leans Republican overall, while Lee County is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Lee County. The southeast side runs the most Democratic (D+52) and the northwest side runs the most Republican (R+29), a spread of about 81 points.
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.
Rural, majority-Black areas of the Southern Black Belt vote Democratic, against the usual rural pattern. About 62% of residents in Lee County are Black or African American, about 32 points above the South Carolina average of 30%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 39% of adults in Lee County have never been married, above 93% of counties. Lee County runs against the grain of South Carolina, a Democratic-leaning pocket in a Republican-leaning state.
Paved land cover and Republican lean
Places with little paved surface tend to lean Republican; Lee County, SC sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure. Paved ground does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban and built-up a place is.
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 49%, about 9 points below the South Carolina average of 58%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Darlington County, SC R+8
- Sumter County, SC D+9
- Kershaw County, SC R+32
- Florence County, SC Even
- Clarendon County, SC R+8
- Chesterfield County, SC R+28
- Richland County, SC D+38
- Marlboro County, SC D+9
- Calhoun County, SC R+15
- Fairfield County, SC D+13
Counties with Similar Populations
- Richland County, ND R+38
- Burnett County, WI R+32
- Crawford County, IA R+37
- Madison County, AR R+61
- Idaho County, ID R+64
- Madison County, IA R+41
- La Paz County, AZ R+28
- Phillips County, AR D+20
- Fountain County, IN R+58
- Socorro County, NM Even
All Local Stats
Home Services
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.