Saunders County leans heavily Republican by roughly 46 points: about 27% of voters vote Democratic and 73% Republican.
About 79% of adults in Saunders County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Saunders County, ~21% vote Democratic, ~58% Republican, and ~21% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Saunders County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Saunders County leans more Republican than 11 of 16 neighbors.
Saunders County runs about 25 points more Republican than Nebraska as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Saunders County. The west side is the most Republican-leaning (R+56) and the southeast side is the least Republican-leaning (R+41), a spread of about 15 points.
Why Saunders 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 Saunders County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many family households vote Republican. About 71% of households in Saunders County are family households, above 82% of counties.
Preventive-care access and voter turnout
Places with strong routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Saunders County, NE sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure. Dental visits do not drive turnout; the rate reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access, which line up with who votes.
Why turnout in Saunders County looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Saunders 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%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 82% of households in Saunders County own their home, above 89% of counties. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 97% of adults in Saunders County have completed high school, in the top fraction of counties. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Dodge County, NE R+31
- Douglas County, NE D+17
- Sarpy County, NE R+10
- Lancaster County, NE D+7
- Washington County, NE R+42
- Butler County, NE R+62
- Cass County, NE R+42
- Colfax County, NE R+27
- Seward County, NE R+52
- Pottawattamie County, IA R+18
Counties with Similar Populations
- Asotin County, WA R+29
- Nobles County, MN R+28
- Bibb County, AL R+57
- Leelanau County, MI Even
- Meigs County, OH R+58
- Waynesboro City, VA R+9
- Mahaska County, IA R+38
- Sumner County, KS R+50
- Lee County, VA R+64
- Grant Parish, LA R+77
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Nebraska 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.