Elk Garden is a Republican stronghold. About 15% of voters here vote Democratic and 85% Republican.
About 51% of adults in Elk Garden typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Elk Garden, ~8% vote Democratic, ~43% Republican, and ~49% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Elk Garden compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Elk Garden leans more Republican than 73 of 91 neighbors.
Elk Garden runs about 28 points more Republican than West Virginia as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Elk Garden. The southwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+74) and the east side is the least Republican-leaning (R+61), a spread of about 13 points.
Why Elk Garden 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 Elk Garden, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural areas vote Republican. About 4% of residents in Elk Garden live in densely developed areas, about 8 points below the West Virginia average of 12%. A high white share with below-average college attainment predicts Republican voting, and Elk Garden fits that profile on both counts. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 75% of households in Elk Garden are family households, above 76% of cities.
Developed land and Republican lean
Places with a rural land-use pattern tend to lean Republican; Elk Garden, WV sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure. Developed land does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban a place is.
Why turnout in Elk Garden looks the way it does
High-crime urban areas turn out at lower rates, mostly because the housing stress common in those areas makes voting harder. Elk Garden sits in the top 15% nationally on a violent-crime measure. See CrimeGrade for more details. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 20% of adults in Elk Garden report food insecurity, above 82% of cities. Low high-school completion lines up with lower turnout, and about 81% of adults in Elk Garden have completed high school, below 89% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Kitzmiller, MD R+67
- Hartmansville, WV R+72
- West Vindex, MD R+67
- Shallmar, MD R+67
- New Creek, WV R+65
- Bethel, MD R+66
- Laurel Dale, WV R+74
- Wilson, MD R+49
- Bloomington, MD R+65
Cities with Similar Populations
- Danevang, TX R+56
- East Corning, NY R+19
- Parma, MO R+39
- South Bend, NE R+39
- Maiden Rock, WI R+37
- Charleston, ME R+37
- Grady, MS R+80
- White Lake, WI R+41
- Deweyville, UT R+72
- Fort Towson, OK R+72
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.