Dawson is a Republican stronghold. About 19% of voters here vote Democratic and 81% Republican.
About 95% of adults in Dawson typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Dawson, ~18% vote Democratic, ~77% Republican, and ~5% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Dawson compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Dawson leans more Republican than 82 of 119 neighbors.
Dawson runs about 19 points more Republican than West Virginia as a whole.
Why Dawson 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 Dawson, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with a high white share and below-average college attainment vote Republican. In Dawson, about 98% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 25 points above the U.S. average of 72%; about 8% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, about 8 points below the West Virginia average of 17%. Rural areas vote Republican, and Dawson sits in the bottom quarter on density (about 5%, below 78% of cities).
Population density and Republican lean
Places with low population density tend to lean Republican; Dawson, WV sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Dawson looks the way it does
Homeowners vote more often than renters. About 98% of households in Dawson own their home, about 17 points above the West Virginia average of 81%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Vale, WV R+67
- Blue Sulphur Springs, WV R+61
- Lawn, WV R+57
- Smoot, WV R+61
- Spring Dale, WV R+57
- Judson, WV R+60
- Clintonville, WV R+60
- Crag, WV R+66
- Claypool, WV R+58
Cities with Similar Populations
- Laura, IL R+42
- Kemp, OH R+62
- Cutting, NY R+53
- Wayne, WI R+49
- Hazelmoor, MD R+43
- Luray, MO R+66
- Helena, IL R+70
- Fairfield, NE R+67
- Blaine, WI R+33
- Gila, NM Even
All Local Stats
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from West Virginia 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.