Letcher County is a Republican stronghold. About 17% of voters here vote Democratic and 83% Republican.
About 64% of adults in Letcher County typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Letcher County, ~11% vote Democratic, ~53% Republican, and ~36% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Letcher County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Letcher County leans more Republican than 8 of 19 neighbors.
Letcher County runs about 35 points more Republican than Kentucky as a whole.
Why Letcher 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 Letcher County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with a high white share and below-average college attainment vote Republican. In Letcher County, about 96% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 24 points above the U.S. average of 72%; about 13% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, about 6 points below the Kentucky average of 19%. Rural areas vote Republican, and Letcher County sits in the bottom quarter on density (about 9%, below 84% of counties).
Population density and Republican lean
Places with low population density tend to lean Republican; Letcher County, KY sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Letcher County looks the way it does
Turnout in Letcher County sits close to the national pattern. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Knott County, KY R+67
- Wise County, VA R+55
- Norton City, VA R+39
- Perry County, KY R+61
- Dickenson County, VA R+66
- Floyd County, KY R+61
- Pike County, KY R+63
- Harlan County, KY R+72
- Leslie County, KY R+76
- Lee County, VA R+64
Counties with Similar Populations
- Hertford County, NC D+25
- Hockley County, TX R+63
- Logan County, CO R+50
- Sevier County, UT R+70
- Scott County, VA R+70
- Dakota County, NE R+15
- Jersey County, IL R+44
- Stutsman County, ND R+34
- Gaines County, TX R+70
- Fayette County, IL R+59
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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.