Southeast is a Democratic stronghold. About 83% of voters here vote Democratic and 17% Republican.
About 67% of adults in Southeast typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Southeast, ~56% vote Democratic, ~11% Republican, and ~33% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Southeast compares
Among neighborhoods within 5 miles, Southeast leans more Democratic than 3 of 6 neighbors.
Southeast runs about 69 points more Democratic than North Carolina as a whole. North Carolina leans Republican overall, while Southeast is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by block within Southeast. The west side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+77) and the east side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+57), a spread of about 20 points.
Why Southeast leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per neighborhood to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Southeast, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Southeast votes against the grain of North Carolina. North Carolina leans Republican overall, while Southeast runs about 69 points more Democratic. Rural majority-Black areas vote Democratic, and about 50% of residents in Southeast are Black or African American, above 90% of neighborhoods.
Paved land cover and Republican lean
Places with little paved surface tend to lean Republican; Southeast, Raleigh, NC sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure. Paved ground does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban and built-up a place is.
Why turnout in Southeast looks the way it does
Turnout in Southeast 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 Neighborhoods
- South, Raleigh, NC D+71
- East Raleigh, Raleigh, NC D+64
- South Central, Raleigh, NC D+69
- North Central, Raleigh, NC D+67
- Central, Raleigh, NC D+65
- Mordecai, Raleigh, NC D+61
- Five Points, Raleigh, NC D+38
- Southwest Raleigh, Raleigh, NC D+47
- Hillsborough, Raleigh, NC D+55
- Northeast Raleigh, Raleigh, NC D+46
Neighborhoods with Similar Populations
- South Central, Reno, NV D+16
- Serra Mesa, San Diego, CA D+30
- Mayfield, Philadelphia, PA D+9
- Douglaston-Little Neck, Queens, NY D+3
- Mount Airy, Philadelphia, PA D+88
- Near West Side, Chicago, IL D+68
- Hawaii Kai, East Honolulu, HI D+24
- The Lakes, Las Vegas, NV D+9
- Bayview, San Francisco, CA D+57
- Riverdale, Bronx, NY D+36
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from North Carolina State Board 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.