Hanover is a Republican stronghold. About 10% of voters here vote Democratic and 90% Republican.
About 60% of adults in Hanover typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Hanover, ~6% vote Democratic, ~54% Republican, and ~40% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Hanover compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Hanover leans more Republican than 155 of 166 neighbors.
Hanover runs about 38 points more Republican than West Virginia as a whole.
Why Hanover 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 Hanover, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with a high white share and below-average college attainment vote Republican. In Hanover, about 99% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 26 points above the U.S. average of 72%; about 12% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, about 16 points below the U.S. average of 28%. Rural areas vote Republican, and Hanover sits in the bottom quarter on density (about 4%, below 84% of cities).
Paved land cover and Republican lean
Places with little paved surface tend to lean Republican; Hanover, WV sits in the bottom quarter 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 Hanover looks the way it does
Areas with low high-school completion turn out at lower rates. About 80% of adults in Hanover have completed high school, about 10 points below the U.S. average of 90%. Limited routine healthcare access lines up with lower turnout, and Hanover sits in the bottom quarter on routine-care measures. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 22% of adults in Hanover report food insecurity, above 86% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Ikes Fork, WV R+81
- North Spring, WV R+81
- Simon, WV R+81
- Justice, WV R+75
- Sun Hill, WV R+80
- Sandy Huff, WV R+75
- Iaeger, WV R+79
- Stoneville, WV R+73
- Gilbert Creek, WV R+76
- Verner, WV R+76
Cities with Similar Populations
- Whaleyville, MD R+36
- Palmer, MI R+19
- Wilkeson, WA R+36
- Vail, IA R+48
- Boone, CO R+49
- Eskridge, KS R+53
- Calamus, IA R+46
- Loomis, NE R+76
- Forest, IN R+61
- Riley Center, MI R+50
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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.