Starr County leans slightly Republican by roughly 6 points: about 47% of voters vote Democratic and 53% Republican.
About 49% of adults in Starr County typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Starr County, ~23% vote Democratic, ~26% Republican, and ~51% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Starr County compares
Starr County sits in a sparsely populated area with few comparable counties nearby.
Starr County runs about 7 points more Democratic than Texas as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Starr County. The north side is the most Republican-leaning (R+16) and the south side is the least Republican-leaning (R+4), a spread of about 12 points.
Why Starr County leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per county to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Starr County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many family households vote Republican. About 79% of households in Starr County are family households, about 12 points above the U.S. average of 67%. Low college attainment predicts Republican voting, and Starr County sits in the bottom quarter (about 15%, below 88% of counties).
Preventive-care access and voter turnout
Places with limited routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a lower rate; Starr County, TX sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Dental visits do not drive turnout; the rate reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access, which line up with who votes.
Why turnout in Starr County looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Starr County 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 37%, about 17 points below the Texas average of 54%. Low high-school completion lines up with lower turnout, and about 60% of adults in Starr County have completed high school, in the bottom fraction of counties. High-crime urban areas turn out at lower rates, and Starr County sits in the top 15% on a violent-crime measure. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Hidalgo County, TX R+2
- Zapata County, TX R+7
- Jim Hogg County, TX R+2
- Willacy County, TX R+7
- Brooks County, TX D+7
- Kenedy County, TX R+44
- Cameron County, TX R+2
- Webb County, TX Even
- Kleberg County, TX R+6
- Duval County, TX R+10
Counties with Similar Populations
- Harrison County, WV R+41
- Wilkes County, NC R+57
- Tehama County, CA R+35
- Marquette County, MI Even
- Apache County, AZ D+30
- Sauk County, WI R+20
- Adams County, IL R+40
- Warren County, NY R+2
- Mason County, WA R+5
- Crow Wing County, MN R+29
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Texas Secretary of State, Elections Division, 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.