Shepherd leans Republican by roughly 22 points: about 39% of voters vote Democratic and 61% Republican.
About 79% of adults in Shepherd typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Shepherd, ~31% vote Democratic, ~48% Republican, and ~21% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Shepherd compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Shepherd leans more Republican than 4 of 54 neighbors.
Shepherd runs about 21 points more Republican than Michigan as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Shepherd. The northwest side runs the most Democratic (D+10) and the east side runs the most Republican (R+43), a spread of about 53 points.
Why Shepherd 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 Shepherd, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Shepherd votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 23%, modestly below the Michigan average of 31%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here.
Walkability and Republican lean
Places with a low walkability score tend to lean Republican; Shepherd, MI sits in the bottom quarter 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 Shepherd looks the way it does
Turnout in Shepherd sits close to the national pattern. Routine healthcare access, homeownership, education, and food security all land near their national averages here. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Mount Pleasant, MI D+14
- Leaton, MI R+33
- Elwell, MI R+49
- St. Louis, MI R+17
- Winn, MI R+42
- Strickland, MI R+49
- Delwin, MI R+38
- Alma, MI R+14
- St. Elmo, MI R+42
- Rosebush, MI R+37
Cities with Similar Populations
- Pleasant Garden, NC R+33
- Spicewood, TX R+37
- Centreville, MD R+32
- Center Line, MI D+16
- McKenzie, TN R+52
- Lamar, CO R+30
- Rutland, MA R+8
- Magalia, CA R+19
- Richfield, UT R+67
- Cedarhurst, NY R+61
All Local Stats
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Michigan Department 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.