Shawnee County is a true toss-up. About 52% of voters here vote Democratic and 48% Republican.
About 68% of adults in Shawnee County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Shawnee County, ~35% vote Democratic, ~33% Republican, and ~32% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Shawnee County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Shawnee County leans more Democratic than 9 of 10 neighbors.
Shawnee County runs about 20 points more Democratic than Kansas as a whole. Kansas leans Republican overall, while Shawnee County is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Shawnee County. The east side runs the most Democratic (D+21) and the northwest side runs the most Republican (R+30), a spread of about 51 points.
Why Shawnee 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 Shawnee County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Shawnee County votes against the grain of Kansas. Kansas leans Republican overall, while Shawnee County runs about 20 points more Democratic.
Walkability and Democratic lean
Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; Shawnee County, KS sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure. A walkable street grid does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban a place is.
Why turnout in Shawnee County looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Shawnee 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 65%, about 5 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Jefferson County, KS R+50
- Osage County, KS R+49
- Douglas County, KS D+35
- Jackson County, KS R+45
- Wabaunsee County, KS R+53
- Pottawatomie County, KS R+46
- Franklin County, KS R+44
- Leavenworth County, KS R+20
- Atchison County, KS R+34
- Lyon County, KS R+14
Counties with Similar Populations
- Licking County, OH R+29
- Imperial County, CA Even
- Johnson County, TX R+50
- Vanderburgh County, IN R+9
- Washington County, UT R+51
- Kanawha County, WV R+19
- Peoria County, IL D+14
- Ulster County, NY D+16
- Kent County, DE D+5
- Muskegon County, MI Even
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Kansas 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.