Scott County is a Republican stronghold. About 15% of voters here vote Democratic and 85% Republican.
About 60% of adults in Scott County typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Scott County, ~9% vote Democratic, ~51% Republican, and ~40% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Scott County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Scott County leans more Republican than 14 of 20 neighbors.
Scott County runs about 40 points more Republican than Tennessee as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Scott County. The northeast side is the most Republican-leaning (R+74) and the south side is the least Republican-leaning (R+62), a spread of about 12 points.
Why Scott 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 Scott County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with a high white share and below-average college attainment vote Republican. In Scott County, about 96% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 24 points above the U.S. average of 72%; about 13% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, about 9 points below the Tennessee average of 22%. Car-dependent areas vote Republican, and about 82% of residents in Scott County drive to work alone, above 82% of counties.
Cancer-screening access and voter turnout
Places with low colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a lower rate; Scott County, TN 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 Scott County looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Scott County 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 48%, about 8 points below the Tennessee average of 56%. Low high-school completion lines up with lower turnout, and about 82% of adults in Scott County have completed high school, below 91% of counties. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- McCreary County, KY R+70
- Campbell County, TN R+65
- Fentress County, TN R+68
- Morgan County, TN R+70
- Anderson County, TN R+39
- Whitley County, KY R+68
- Wayne County, KY R+65
- Pickett County, TN R+70
- Clinton County, KY R+72
- Roane County, TN R+57
Counties with Similar Populations
- Prince Edward County, VA D+7
- Colusa County, CA R+20
- Tippah County, MS R+61
- Boone County, WV R+62
- Wyandot County, OH R+53
- Taylor County, FL R+54
- Mitchell County, GA R+9
- Henry County, MO R+54
- Seward County, KS R+27
- Randolph County, AL R+59
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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.