Sheldon, SC Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Sheldon

By the BestNeighborhood data science team. Last updated May 2026.

Sheldon is a true toss-up. About 51% of voters here vote Democratic and 49% Republican.

 

About 68% of adults in Sheldon typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Sheldon, ~35% vote Democratic, ~33% Republican, and ~32% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Sheldon compares

Among cities within 25 miles, Sheldon sits roughly in the middle of the political spectrum, with 25 neighbors leaning further in the place's direction and 22 leaning the other way.

Sheldon runs about 20 points more Democratic than South Carolina as a whole. South Carolina leans Republican overall, while Sheldon sits closer to the political middle.

Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Sheldon. The east side runs the most Democratic (D+20) and the northeast side runs the most Republican (R+7), a spread of about 27 points.

Why Sheldon leans the way it does

This analysis examined 14,881 data points per city to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Sheldon, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.

Sheldon votes against the grain of South Carolina. South Carolina leans Republican overall, while Sheldon runs about 20 points more Democratic.

High-school completion, developed land, and voter turnout

Places that combine high-school-completion-heavy adults and a rural land-use pattern tend to turn out at a higher rate, as Sheldon, SC does.

Why turnout in Sheldon looks the way it does

Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Sheldon 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 59%, below 60% of cities. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 90% of households in Sheldon own their home, above 81% of cities. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 97% of adults in Sheldon have completed high school, above 89% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.

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Sources and methodology

Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from South Carolina State Election Commission, 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.