Southern Shops, SC Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Southern Shops

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

Southern Shops is a true toss-up. About 50% of voters here vote Democratic and 50% Republican.

 

About 25% of adults in Southern Shops typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Southern Shops, ~12% vote Democratic, ~13% Republican, and ~75% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Southern Shops compares

Among cities within 25 miles, Southern Shops sits roughly in the middle of the political spectrum, with 4 neighbors leaning further in the place's direction and 56 leaning the other way.

Southern Shops runs about 17 points more Democratic than South Carolina as a whole.

Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Southern Shops. The south side runs the most Democratic (D+15) and the southwest side runs the most Republican (R+23), a spread of about 38 points.

Why Southern Shops leans the way it does

Density, race composition, education, and family structure all sit close to their national averages in Southern Shops. The lean here lands roughly where demographic data alone would predict.

Park access and Republican lean

Places with low park coverage tend to lean Republican; Southern Shops, SC sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Park access does not change how people vote; it tends to track denser, higher-income areas.

Why turnout in Southern Shops looks the way it does

Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Southern Shops is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 35%, about 23 points below the South Carolina average of 58%. Renters vote less often than owners, and about 52% of households in Southern Shops rent, compared to around 36% in nearby cities. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 47% of adults in Southern Shops report food insecurity, in the top fraction of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.

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.