McKinley leans heavily Democratic by roughly 32 points: about 66% of voters vote Democratic and 34% Republican.
About 67% of adults in McKinley typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in McKinley, ~44% vote Democratic, ~23% Republican, and ~33% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How McKinley compares
Among cities within 25 miles, McKinley leans more Democratic than 30 of 50 neighbors.
McKinley runs about 62 points more Democratic than Alabama as a whole. Alabama leans Republican overall, while McKinley is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within McKinley. The east side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+75) and the west side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+19), a spread of about 56 points.
Why McKinley 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 McKinley, 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 76% of residents in McKinley are Black or African American, about 53 points above the Alabama average of 24%. McKinley runs against the grain of Alabama, a Democratic-leaning pocket in a Republican-leaning state.
Walkability and Republican lean
Places with a low walkability score tend to lean Republican; McKinley, AL 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 McKinley looks the way it does
Limited routine healthcare access lines up with lower turnout, and McKinley sits in the bottom quarter on routine-care measures. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Consul, AL D+26
- Safford, AL D+13
- Thomaston, AL D+21
- Catherine, AL D+63
- Flatwood, AL D+66
- Dayton, AL D+9
- Uniontown, AL D+70
- Siddonsville, AL D+4
- Rehoboth, AL D+77
Cities with Similar Populations
- Richfield, KS R+84
- Meyer, IA R+49
- Nashville, OR D+9
- Altonah, UT R+83
- Coe, IN R+58
- Peniel, TX R+52
- Moorman, KY R+62
- Dewart, PA R+54
- Hallburg, WV R+58
- Sedan, NM R+70
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Alabama 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.