Tar Fork is a Republican stronghold. About 20% of voters here vote Democratic and 80% Republican.
About 76% of adults in Tar Fork typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Tar Fork, ~15% vote Democratic, ~61% Republican, and ~24% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Tar Fork compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Tar Fork leans more Republican than 48 of 88 neighbors.
Tar Fork runs about 30 points more Republican than Kentucky as a whole.
Why Tar Fork 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 Tar Fork, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with a high white share and below-average college attainment vote Republican. In Tar Fork, about 98% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 26 points above the U.S. average of 72%; about 10% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, about 9 points below the Kentucky average of 19%. Car-dependent areas vote Republican, and about 87% of residents in Tar Fork drive to work alone, above 87% of cities.
Walkability and Republican lean
Places with a low walkability score tend to lean Republican; Tar Fork, KY sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure. A walkable street grid does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban a place is.
Why turnout in Tar Fork looks the way it does
Turnout in Tar Fork 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 Cities
- Cloverport, KY R+52
- Holt, KY R+60
- Mattingly, KY R+60
- Stephensport, KY R+62
- Sunny Corner, KY R+54
- Dukes, KY R+60
- Rome, IN R+46
- Tobinsport, IN R+47
- Mystic, KY R+62
Cities with Similar Populations
- Tobinsport, IN R+47
- Laurel Dale, WV R+74
- Lone Pine, LA R+70
- Shanghai, NC R+11
- Grass Valley, OR R+63
- Chalybeate, PA R+60
- Sandy Ridge, TN R+68
- Rolling Meadows, TX R+62
- Northboro, IA R+54
- Jenkins, IL R+53
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Kentucky 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.