Taft leans heavily Democratic by roughly 44 points: about 72% of voters vote Democratic and 28% Republican.
About 58% of adults in Taft typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Taft, ~42% vote Democratic, ~16% Republican, and ~42% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Taft compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Taft leans more Democratic than 35 of 39 neighbors.
Taft runs about 61 points more Democratic than South Carolina as a whole. South Carolina leans Republican overall, while Taft is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Taft. The northeast side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+54) and the west side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+29), a spread of about 25 points.
Why Taft 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 Taft, 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 86% of residents in Taft are Black or African American, about 56 points above the South Carolina average of 30%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 49% of adults in Taft have never been married, above 98% of cities. Taft runs against the grain of South Carolina, a Democratic-leaning pocket in a Republican-leaning state.
Preventive-care access and voter turnout
Places with limited routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a lower rate; Taft, SC sits in the bottom quarter 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 Taft looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Taft is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 34% of adults in Taft report food insecurity, above 97% of cities. High-crime urban areas turn out at lower rates, and Taft sits in the top 15% on a violent-crime measure. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Lane, SC D+65
- Rock Bluff, SC D+50
- Salters, SC D+41
- Suttons, SC D+14
- Millwood, SC D+14
- Bloomingvale, SC D+9
- St. Stephen, SC D+7
- West Andrews, SC R+15
- Andrews, SC D+4
- Kingstree, SC D+43
Cities with Similar Populations
- Stockville, NE R+76
- Flagg, TX R+67
- Wallsboro, AL R+36
- East Berwick, PA R+39
- Marvinville, AR R+70
- Forest Grove, MT R+74
- Los Vigiles, NM D+13
- Meighen, WV R+62
- Maysville, IA R+43
- Jonben, WV R+69
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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.