Chatham leans heavily Republican by roughly 34 points: about 33% of voters vote Democratic and 67% Republican.
About 66% of adults in Chatham typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Chatham, ~22% vote Democratic, ~44% Republican, and ~34% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Chatham compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Chatham leans more Republican than 31 of 74 neighbors.
Chatham runs about 40 points more Republican than Virginia as a whole. Virginia leans Democratic overall, while Chatham is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Chatham. The northwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+48) and the south side is the least Republican-leaning (R+26), a spread of about 22 points.
Why Chatham 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 Chatham, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Chatham votes against the grain of Virginia. Virginia leans Democratic overall, while Chatham runs about 40 points more Republican. Car-dependent areas vote Republican, and about 85% of residents in Chatham drive to work alone, above 82% of cities.
Park access and Republican lean
Places with low park coverage tend to lean Republican; Chatham, VA sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Park access does not change how people vote; it tends to track denser, higher-income areas.
Why turnout in Chatham looks the way it does
Turnout in Chatham 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
- Weal, VA R+30
- Climax, VA R+26
- Rondo, VA R+41
- Whittle, VA R+42
- Green Pond, VA R+50
- Spring Garden, VA R+55
- Redeye, VA R+47
- Pleasant Gap, VA R+44
- Shockoe, VA R+16
- Blairs, VA R+19
Cities with Similar Populations
- Mifflintown, PA R+56
- Blackwell, OK R+49
- Belford, NJ R+26
- Catawba, NC R+54
- Bladenboro, NC R+37
- Country Homes, WA D+5
- Treasure Island, FL R+19
- DeWitt, IA R+26
- Point Pleasant, WV R+50
- South Hill, VA D+3
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.