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

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

Shirley leans heavily Democratic by roughly 46 points: about 73% of voters vote Democratic and 27% Republican.

 

About 87% of adults in Shirley typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Shirley, ~64% vote Democratic, ~23% Republican, and ~13% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Shirley compares

Among cities within 25 miles, Shirley leans more Democratic than 40 of 44 neighbors.

Shirley runs about 65 points more Democratic than South Carolina as a whole. South Carolina leans Republican overall, while Shirley is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.

Why Shirley 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 Shirley, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.

Rural, majority-Black areas of the Southern Black Belt vote Democratic, against the usual rural pattern. About 79% of residents in Shirley are Black or African American, about 49 points above the South Carolina average of 30%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 46% of adults in Shirley have never been married, above 97% of cities. Shirley runs against the grain of South Carolina, a Democratic-leaning pocket in a Republican-leaning state.

Population density and Republican lean

Places with low population density tend to lean Republican; Shirley, SC sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure.

Why turnout in Shirley looks the way it does

Limited routine healthcare access lines up with lower turnout, and Shirley sits in the bottom quarter on routine-care measures. 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.