Rhea County is a Republican stronghold. About 18% of voters here vote Democratic and 82% Republican.
About 65% of adults in Rhea County typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Rhea County, ~12% vote Democratic, ~53% Republican, and ~35% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Rhea County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Rhea County leans more Republican than 9 of 18 neighbors.
Rhea County runs about 33 points more Republican than Tennessee as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Rhea County. The east side is the most Republican-leaning (R+70) and the southwest side is the least Republican-leaning (R+58), a spread of about 12 points.
Why Rhea 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 Rhea County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many family households vote Republican. About 70% of households in Rhea County are family households, above 78% of counties.
Park access and Republican lean
Places with low park coverage tend to lean Republican; Rhea County, TN sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Park access does not change how people vote; it tends to track denser, higher-income areas.
Why turnout in Rhea County looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Rhea County is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Meigs County, TN R+72
- Bledsoe County, TN R+66
- McMinn County, TN R+61
- Bradley County, TN R+48
- Cumberland County, TN R+57
- Sequatchie County, TN R+68
- Van Buren County, TN R+71
- Roane County, TN R+57
- Monroe County, TN R+67
- Hamilton County, TN R+10
Counties with Similar Populations
- Weakley County, TN R+53
- Morgan County, IL R+25
- Jasper County, IN R+50
- Greenbrier County, WV R+47
- Jefferson County, WA D+45
- Jasper County, TX R+54
- Lafayette County, MO R+51
- Transylvania County, NC R+17
- Pike County, AL R+17
- Lassen County, CA R+37
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Tennessee Secretary of State, Division 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.