Perkins County is a Republican stronghold. About 16% of voters here vote Democratic and 84% Republican.
About 68% of adults in Perkins County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Perkins County, ~11% vote Democratic, ~57% Republican, and ~32% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Perkins County compares
Perkins County runs about 39 points more Republican than South Dakota as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Perkins County. The southwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+79) and the northeast side is the least Republican-leaning (R+60), a spread of about 19 points.
Why Perkins 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 Perkins County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural areas with a high white share vote Republican. Perkins County sits in the bottom quarter on density and about 92% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 12 points above the South Dakota average of 81%.
Population density and Republican lean
Places with low population density tend to lean Republican; Perkins County, SD sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Perkins County looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Perkins 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 68%, about 8 points above the U.S. average of 60%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 95% of adults in Perkins County have completed high school, above 91% of counties. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Adams County, ND R+62
- Hettinger County, ND R+69
- Grant County, ND R+71
- Harding County, SD R+88
- Bowman County, ND R+65
- Ziebach County, SD D+12
- Corson County, SD D+38
- Slope County, ND R+74
- Dewey County, SD D+30
- Sioux County, ND D+54
Counties with Similar Populations
- Douglas County, SD R+68
- Hall County, TX R+63
- Clay County, GA D+18
- Perkins County, NE R+76
- Trego County, KS R+67
- Jackson County, SD R+9
- Baker County, GA R+16
- Glascock County, GA R+80
- Sherman County, TX R+69
- Franklin County, NE R+69
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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.