Charleston, MS Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Charleston

By the BestNeighborhood data science team. Last updated May 2026.

Charleston is a Democratic stronghold. About 76% of voters here vote Democratic and 24% Republican.

 

About 63% of adults in Charleston typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Charleston, ~48% vote Democratic, ~15% Republican, and ~37% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Charleston compares

Among cities within 25 miles, Charleston leans more Democratic than 44 of 50 neighbors.

Charleston runs about 75 points more Democratic than Mississippi as a whole. Mississippi leans Republican overall, while Charleston is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.

Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Charleston. The south side runs the most Democratic (D+75) and the southeast side runs the most Republican (R+36), a spread of about 111 points.

Why Charleston 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 Charleston, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.

Density combined with diversity predicts Democratic voting. Non-Hispanic white share in Charleston is about 26%, about 46 points below the U.S. average of 72%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 46% of adults in Charleston have never been married, above 97% of cities. Charleston runs against the grain of Mississippi, a Democratic-leaning pocket in a Republican-leaning state.

Walkability and Democratic lean

Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; Charleston, MS sits in the top 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 Charleston looks the way it does

Limited routine healthcare access lines up with lower turnout, and Charleston sits in the bottom quarter on routine-care measures. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.

Sources and methodology

Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Mississippi Secretary of State, 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.