Lincoln County, SD Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Lincoln County

By the BestNeighborhood data science team. Last updated May 2026.

Lincoln County leans Republican by roughly 28 points: about 36% of voters vote Democratic and 64% Republican.

 

About 82% of adults in Lincoln County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Lincoln County, ~29% vote Democratic, ~53% Republican, and ~18% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Lincoln County compares

Among counties within 50 miles, Lincoln County leans more Republican than 2 of 11 neighbors.

Politically, Lincoln County sits close to the rest of South Dakota.

Politics vary noticeably by city within Lincoln County. The south side is the most Republican-leaning (R+51) and the north side is the least Republican-leaning (R+17), a spread of about 34 points.

Why Lincoln 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 Lincoln County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.

Lincoln County votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 59%, far above the South Dakota average of 9%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 72% of households in Lincoln County are family households, above 86% of counties.

High-school completion, uninsured rate, and voter turnout

Places that combine high-school-completion-heavy adults and a low uninsured rate tend to turn out at a higher rate, as Lincoln County, SD does.

Why turnout in Lincoln County looks the way it does

Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Lincoln County 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 73%, about 13 points above the U.S. average of 60%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 97% of adults in Lincoln County have completed high school, above 98% of counties. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.

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Sources and methodology

Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from South Dakota 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.