Merrill is a Republican stronghold. About 19% of voters here vote Democratic and 81% Republican.
About 48% of adults in Merrill typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Merrill, ~9% vote Democratic, ~39% Republican, and ~52% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Merrill compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Merrill leans more Republican than 6 of 22 neighbors.
Merrill runs about 38 points more Republican than Mississippi as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Merrill. The southwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+69) and the east side is the least Republican-leaning (R+59), a spread of about 10 points.
Why Merrill 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 Merrill, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with low college attainment vote Republican. About 13% of adults in Merrill hold a bachelor's degree, about 6 points below the Mississippi average of 19%. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 76% of households in Merrill are family households, above 79% of cities.
Cancer-screening access and voter turnout
Places with low colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a lower rate; Merrill, MS sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.
Why turnout in Merrill looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Merrill 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 9%, about 51 points below the U.S. average of 60%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Bexley, MS R+72
- Leaf, MS R+61
- McLain, MS R+47
- Lucedale, MS R+78
- Vernal, MS R+78
- Benndale, MS R+73
- Shipman, MS R+87
- Little Creek, MS R+46
- Leakesville, MS R+38
- Whites Crossing, MS R+80
Cities with Similar Populations
- Nay Aug, PA R+7
- Perry Mills, NY R+19
- Perth, VA R+31
- Center, NE R+48
- Sprule, KY R+81
- Judith Gap, MT R+65
- Scotland Fork, MS R+20
- Government Camp, OR D+7
- Mc Dowell, VA R+52
- Gusher, UT R+62
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Mississippi 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.