Union County is a Republican stronghold. About 15% of voters here vote Democratic and 85% Republican.
About 68% of adults in Union County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Union County, ~10% vote Democratic, ~58% Republican, and ~32% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Union County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Union County leans more Republican than 15 of 19 neighbors.
Union County runs about 40 points more Republican than Tennessee as a whole.
Why Union 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 Union County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with a high white share and below-average college attainment vote Republican. In Union County, about 94% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 22 points above the U.S. average of 72%; about 14% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, about 8 points below the Tennessee average of 22%. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 76% of households in Union County are family households, above 96% of counties.
Walkability and Republican lean
Places with a low walkability score tend to lean Republican; Union County, TN sits in the bottom tenth 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 Union County looks the way it does
Turnout in Union County sits close to the national pattern. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Grainger County, TN R+71
- Claiborne County, TN R+70
- Campbell County, TN R+65
- Knox County, TN R+13
- Anderson County, TN R+39
- Jefferson County, TN R+61
- Hamblen County, TN R+51
- Sevier County, TN R+58
- Bell County, KY R+62
- Blount County, TN R+49
Counties with Similar Populations
- Tyler County, TX R+70
- Spencer County, IN R+49
- Plumas County, CA R+23
- DeWitt County, TX R+49
- Wayne County, MS R+25
- Franklin Parish, LA R+38
- Monroe County, AL R+23
- Douglas County, IL R+48
- Orange County, IN R+54
- Pierce County, GA R+71
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Tennessee Secretary of State, Division 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.