Buchanan County is a Republican stronghold. About 17% of voters here vote Democratic and 83% Republican.
About 69% of adults in Buchanan County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Buchanan County, ~12% vote Democratic, ~57% Republican, and ~31% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Buchanan County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Buchanan County leans more Republican than 12 of 18 neighbors.
Buchanan County runs about 73 points more Republican than Virginia as a whole. Virginia leans Democratic overall, while Buchanan County is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Why Buchanan 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 Buchanan 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 Buchanan County, about 93% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 21 points above the U.S. average of 72%; about 12% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, about 17 points below the Virginia average of 29%. Rural areas vote Republican, and Buchanan County sits in the bottom quarter on density (about 6%, below 92% of counties). Buchanan County runs against the grain of Virginia, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Paved land cover and Republican lean
Places with little paved surface tend to lean Republican; Buchanan County, VA sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Paved ground does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban and built-up a place is.
Why turnout in Buchanan County looks the way it does
Homeowners vote more often than renters. About 82% of households in Buchanan County own their home, about 6 points above the Virginia average of 76%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Dickenson County, VA R+66
- Russell County, VA R+68
- McDowell County, WV R+56
- Pike County, KY R+63
- Tazewell County, VA R+58
- Mingo County, WV R+71
- Wyoming County, WV R+73
- Wise County, VA R+55
- Norton City, VA R+39
- Washington County, VA R+52
Counties with Similar Populations
- Clay County, KY R+72
- Lavaca County, TX R+64
- Carroll County, IN R+53
- Carbon County, UT R+56
- Breckinridge County, KY R+58
- Lincoln County, NM R+28
- Yell County, AR R+59
- Uinta County, WY R+62
- Greene County, NC R+15
- Bourbon County, KY R+37
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Virginia Department 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.